In a Twitter statement by Karabakh’s Ministry of Defence, it was announced that Azeri forces attacked Armenian positions in Martuni and Martakert districts with artillery and drones. The statement said: “As a result of another provocation by Azerbaijan, four soldiers lost their lives.”

The statement came at a time when Washington has been hosting new talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan since Tuesday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken first held separate meetings with his Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyan, and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ceyhun Bayramov. The foreign ministers later held a separate meeting. The closed-door negotiations are expected to last until Thursday.

A US State Department spokesperson said on Monday: “We continue to believe that peace is achievable, and that direct dialogue is the key to resolving issues and reaching a durable and dignified peace.”

The US brought both ministers together in Washington at the beginning of May. In recent weeks, negotiations have also taken place in Brussels and Moscow.

Last week, Russia requested Azerbaijan to restore access to Nagorno-Karabakh via Armenia.

These two former Soviet republics in the Caucasus engaged in a short-lived war for control of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020. Azerbaijan, which received direct support from the Turkish state, occupied many regions following this war. Although a ceasefire was achieved between the parties through the mediation of Russia, conflicts keep flaring frequently on the border line.

The predominantly Armenian mountainous region broke away from Azerbaijan after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the first war in the early 1990s, 30 thousand people lost their lives, which led to an Armenian victory.

In the last war in the autumn of 2020, 6500 people lost their lives and Azerbaijan occupied many regions.