Azerbaijani soldier martyred in Karabakh border clash

An Azerbaijani soldier has been martyred in a clash with Armenian forces on the occupied Karabakh frontier, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in a statement Tuesday.

An unspecified number of Armenian military personnel were also killed in the clash on the frontline between Azerbaijan and occupied Karabakh, which was taken over by Armenian militias in 1993, the ministry said, adding that the Yerevan administration was responsible for the incident.

The clash comes after the Azerbaijani president, Armenian president, U.S. secretary of state, Russian foreign minister, French minister of state for European affairs, and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Minsk group co-chairs held a meeting on occopied Karabakh on Tuesday in Vienna.

Previously, the Azerbaijani ministry had accused Armenian forces of violating a cease-fire set up last month after an escalation in clashes.

Occupied Karabakh is recognized as Azerbaijani territory by the international community but it was taken over by Armenian secessionists when the Soviet Union broke up in the late 1980s.

Despite a 1994 peace deal, border skirmishes are a frequent occurrence. At the beginning of last month, these escalated into the worst outbreak of fighting since the war, resulting in the deaths of more than 270 military personnel.