Azerbaijan troops still advance into the zone of responsibility of Russian peacekeepers

The invasion of the Azerbaijani military into Nagorno Karabakh in the zone of responsibility of Russian peacekeepers continues, spokespeople for Armenia's Foreign Ministry said.

"We expect that the peacekeeping forces of the Russian Federation in Nagorno Karabakh will take concrete measures to stop the invasion of Azerbaijani units in the zone of responsibility of the peacekeepers,” the ministry said in a statement.

Armenia's Foreign Ministry once again called for an investigation into the actions of the peacekeeping mission.

On March 24, the Azerbaijani military occupied the Armenian village of Parukh (Farukh in Azeri) in Nagorno-Karabakh without a fight.

A skirmish subsequently took place near the village for the neighboring and strategically important Karagluh Hill. According to Armenia, three Armenian soldiers were killed and more than ten were wounded. Five Azeri people were killed in the shootout, Armenian officials said. Baku denied reports of the shootout and casualties.

Russian President Putin phoned Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan twice on March 24 and 25. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu also spoke with his counterparts from Armenia and Azerbaijan, Suren Papikyan and Zakir Hasanov.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Azerbaijani armed forces entered the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh and set up an observation post. Bayraktar TB-2 drones were used to strike the troops of Nagorno-Karabakh near the village of Parukh four times, the ministry said.

The Russian side called on Azerbaijan to pull back its troops.

On March 27, the Azerbaijani military left their positions after negotiations, the Russian military said. However, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan stated that they did not withdraw troops.