One Azerbaijani soldier was wounded when the Armenian military opened fire on Azerbaijani positions in the western Kalbajar border region, the country's defense ministry said Wednesday, while Armenia reported three soldiers killed.
The defense ministry said in a statement that Azerbaijan's military positions in the direction of the southwestern part of the Kalbajar province came under fire by Armenian troops despite there being a truce in place.
The Azerbaijani forces retaliated, it said, underlining that the administration in Yerevan, which deliberately tried to escalate the situation, was entirely responsible for the current incident.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian tweeted that three of his troops had been killed in "an attack against Armenian independence, sovereignty and democracy."
Kalbajar had been occupied by Armenian forces since 1993.
After border clashes two weeks ago that killed almost 200 soldiers, the worst bout of fighting since a six-week war between the two ex-Soviet countries in late 2020, the two sides agreed to a cease-fire deal brokered by Russia.
Last Friday, both sides accused each other of breaching the truce by firing across the border.
The Turkish National Security Council on Wednesday condemned Armenia's provocations against Azerbaijan, urging Yerevan to fulfill its obligations and make efforts for peace.
Türkiye reaffirmed its "strong support" for Azerbaijan, which "strives to achieve permanent peace."
The council also noted the importance of "all actors, primarily regional countries, involved in the issue (Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict) to sincerely contribute to a permanent cease-fire rather than deepening disputes."
The fighting is linked to decades-old hostilities over control of the mountainous Karabakh region, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but, until 2020, largely illegally controlled by Armenia.
With Moscow increasingly isolated on the world stage following its February invasion of Ukraine, the United States and the European Union had taken a leading role in mediating the Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization process.
Last week, the two countries' foreign ministers met in New York for talks mediated by the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
During EU-led negotiations in Brussels in April and May, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Pashinian agreed to "advance discussions" on a future peace treaty.
They last met in Brussels on Aug. 31, for talks mediated by European Council President Charles Michel.
Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military illegally occupied Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
Clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, with the Armenian Army attacking civilians and Azerbaijani forces, violating several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.
During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and around 300 settlements and villages that had been occupied by Armenia for almost 30 years.
The fighting ended with a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10, 2020, which was seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia.
However, the cease-fire has been broken several times since then.