Armenia Claims Azerbaijanis Fired On Their Soldiers, Killing One

The Armenian Ministry of Defence has claimed that Azerbaijani troops fired on Armenian troops near the Verin Shorzha village in the Gegarkunik region, killing one soldier.

• In early May, Armenia accused Azerbaijani troops of making incursions into Armenian territory, leading to Russia attempting to lead negotiations over border demarcation led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
• Azerbaijan denied the accusations of incursions, saying their troops were only defending their side of the border.
• The ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains extremely fragile following the six-week war between the two sides in the autumn of 2020 that resulted in a notable transfer of land from Armenia to Azerbaijan.
• The eventual deal ceasefire agreement signed being viewed as a capitulation by Armenian nationalists, resulting in major protests and an attempted coup against PM Nikol Pashinyan. These actions spurred the announcement of Pashinyan's resignation and snap elections being called for 20 June. Should the incident reported above result in a wider outbreak of violence it could have a notable impact on the election, or indeed the ability of Armenia to hold the election.
• Former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan is running in the election under the nationalist Armenia Alliance banner, with opinion polls showing the group gaining on Pashinyan's My Step alliance.

Source: BBC