Armenia claims that at least 49 of its soldiers were killed in clashes with Azerbaijan.

Fears of war between former Soviet countries have been heightened by the escalation in hostilities among the south Caucasus nations.

Armenia stated that several towns close to the border with Azerbaijan were shelled on Tuesday morning.

It claimed it had responded to Azerbaijan’s “large-scale provocation”.

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Nikol Pashinyan, Armenia’s Prime Minister, accused Azerbaijani of attacking Armenian towns. This was because Azerbaijan did not want negotiations over Nagorno Karabakh’s status. It is an enclave within Azerbaijan that is primarily populated by ethnic Armenians.

According to Russian media, Pashinyan stated that “the intensity of hostilities had decreased” but that attacks on one or more fronts from Azerbaijan continued.

It was after talks held in Brussels by the European Union with Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, which revealed his uncompromising position.

Azerbaijan claimed that Armenia attacked it.

According to the report, Armenian forces were involved in intelligence activities at its border and had moved weapons into the region. They also planted mines.

Russia has approximately 2,000 soldiers in the region under a peace agreement. It quickly moved to broker a ceasefire.

It is following , a decades-old division between neighboring countries.

Armenia is a country that is landlocked on the east border of Turkey. It borders Azerbaijan to its west and Azerbaijan the Caspian Sea to its east.

Conflict began in 1980, when both countries were still part of the Soviet Union.

Armenian forces captured territory close to Nagorno–Karabkah. Azerbaijan later partially regained it in 2020 after fighting that lasted six months and killed more than 6,600 people.

Russian mediators brokered a truce that saw thousands of refugees return to their homes.

Russia and Europe both called for restraint from the nations.

According to the Russian foreign ministry, the conflict should be solved only through diplomatic and political means.

Charles Mischel, President of the European Council, also advised Mr Pasyhinyan not to escalate.