Georgia concerned by armed confrontation on Azerbaijan-Armenia border

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has expressed concern over the 12-13 July armed confrontation on the border of neighbouring states Azerbaijan and Armenia, with both sides  using artillery, mortar, and tanks in the northern area of their borders.

Zurabishvili said that the armed confrontation, which has claimed the lives of four Azerbaijani soldiers and left several injured on both sides, is a threat to regional peace and stability. 

Today, as we all fight an invisible enemy, international solidarity and the maintenance of global stability are of paramount importance. The peace and security of our region is important for the future development and prosperity of Georgia, as well as our friendly and partner states – Azerbaijan and Armenia,” Zurabishvili stated. 

She expressed hope that measures will be taken to resolve the conflict. 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Azerbaijan and Armenia on Monday to de-escalate their border spat. 

Guterres’ spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the UN chief is ‘deeply concerned’  by the tension.  

In a statement on July 13, the EU urged both sides to "stop the armed confrontation.’ 

President Ziurabishvili has responded to recent confrontation between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Photo: president's press office. 

The two countries have been locked in a conflict over Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh for more than three decades.

But the recent clashes were far from Nagorno-Karabakh and directly between the two nations, which happens very rarely. 

The clashes came several days after the Azerbaijani president raised the possibility of a new war with Armenia, stating that peace talks between Baku and Yerevan, mediated by the ‘Minsk Group’ of diplomats from France, Russia, and the United States, have provided no genuine results. 

Both sides are trading accusations for the recent confrontation on the border.