<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan on Monday night killed almost 100 soldiers, it has emerged.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said 49 of its soldiers died in overnight clashes, while Azerbaijan's defence ministry said 50 of its servicemen were also killed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The neighbouring countries have fought two wars and seen regular smaller clashes span three decades.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Tuesday, Russia said it brokered a ceasefire for the latest outbreak.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Armenia initially said the fighting had calmed, rather than ended completely. Later, Azerbaijan said it had completed its objectives following "provocations" from its neighbour.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At the core of the dispute is the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. It is, according to internationally-recognised borders, firmly a part of Azerbaijan - but is populated by ethnic Armenians.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The cultural divide extends beyond politics into religion, too: Armenia is a majority-Christian country, while Azerbaijan is mostly Muslim.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Both countries were part of the Soviet Union before its dissolution at the end of 1991.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The dispute has led to full-scale war in the 1980s and 1990s, a six-week war in 2020 and continuing clashes for decades.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The two countries blame each other for the latest outbreak of violence.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Armenia claimed that several towns along the border had been shelled by its neighbour and that it had responded to the provocation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Azerbaijan said its infrastructure came under attack first, with military spokesman Lt Col Anar Eyvazov saying that military movements over the past month "demonstrate that Armenia is preparing for a large-scale military provocation".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Violence continued on Monday night before Moscow said it had negotiated a rapid ceasefire to take effect early on Tuesday morning.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Armenia's Nikol Pashinyan, however, said "the intensity of hostilities has decreased, but attacks on one or two fronts from Azerbaijan continue".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Later on Tuesday, Azerbaijan said its servicemen died "as a result of Armenia's large-scale provocation" and it accused Armenia of violating a ceasefire brokered by Russia.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to his Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev on the same day, urging him to "return to respecting the ceasefire" with Armenia.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The fighting has been condemned internationally. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made personal phone calls to the leaders of both nations on Tuesday, urging them to come to a peaceful settlement and prevent further fighting.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Blinken said he would push "for an immediate halt to fighting and a peace settlement" between both countries.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Russia is close to Armenia, but is a major power in the region and maintains relationships with both sides.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that President Vladimir Putin was "personally" taking a role in mediating.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The president is naturally making every effort to help de-escalate tensions at the border," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Turkey, meanwhile, has ties with Azerbaijan and seemingly backed its version of events. Turkey's foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, said "Armenia should cease its provocations and focus on peace negotiations".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Monday night's fighting is believed to be the worst since the 2020 conflict, in which thousands were killed. That war ended in a deal brokered by Russia, which saw Armenia withdraw its troops from occupied areas around Nagorno-Karabakh.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A Russian peacekeeping force of nearly 2,000 men was deployed to the area as part of the negotiations, where it remains today. Source: BBC</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>