Armenia, Serbia FMs note positive dynamics of political dialogue

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The Armenian Foreign Minister, Ararat Mirzoyan, and his Serbian counterpart, Nikola Selakovic, noted the positive dynamics of bilateral political dialogue during a meeting in New York on the sidelines of the 77th UN General Assembly session. 

"Mirzoyan and Selakovic expressed satisfaction with the positive dynamics of the political dialogue between the two countries and noted the importance of joint efforts to expand the bilateral agenda," the the Armenian foreign ministry said on Telegram.

The state officials discussed issues related to cooperation at international sites and exchanged views on a number of important regional and international issues.

"Mirzoyan presented to his counterpart in detail the situation that developed as a result of the Azerbaijani aggression unleashed on September 13 against the sovereign territory of Armenia, pointing out to cases of violation of international and humanitarian law by Azerbaijan and emphasizing the inadmissibility of the policy pursued by Azerbaijan of the use of force or the threat of force and coercion," the Armenian foreign ministry said.

Read next: Azerbaijan shelling Armenia using artillery, drone strikes: Yerevan

Hostilities broke out on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border on September 13. The sides accused each other of triggering an escalation. The two parties reported losses among military personnel. By the next morning, a ceasefire was put into force.

The ceasefire was achieved due to Russian efforts, after a conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and the work of the Russian Foreign Ministry, according to Grigory Karasin, head of the Russian Federation Council's Foreign Affairs Committee. The senator claims that since Yerevan submitted an application to the Collective Security Treaty Organization, there is a lot of work to be done.

The CSTO Permanent Council had an emergency meeting on September 13, with CSTO spokesman Vladimir Zainetdinov voicing grave worry about the situation on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan and looking at suggestions for using the CSTO mechanisms for resolution.

The CSTO Collective Security Council reached an agreement on September 13 to send a mission of the organization, led by the organization's Secretary General Stanislav Zas, to Armenia.

Armenian-Azerbaijani border clash

Russian news media reported that clashes between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops started early on September 13, resuming decades-old hostilities over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijani soldiers advanced along various areas of the border, according to Aram Torosyan, spokesman for the Armenian Defense Ministry.

"The enemy continues to use artillery, mortars, drones, and large-caliber small arms. Attacks are being made on both military facilities and civilian infrastructure facilities. In some areas, Azerbaijani units have taken actions to advance positions. Positional battles continue. The Armenian Armed Forces give a proportionate response and carry out their combat tasks in full," Torosyan said.

According to Torosyan, Armenian servicemen were killed and others were injured in an armed encounter near the border with Azerbaijan. "There are dead and wounded on the Armenian side. The data is being specified," Torosyan said.

He said Azerbaijani troops were also delivering strikes at civilian infrastructure facilities.