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Putin discussed Armenia, Azerbaijan with Russia’s Security Council

The situation at the border escalated on July 12. Azerbaijan claimed that Armenia attempted to attack its positions with artillery, while Armenia claimed that Azerbaijani troops attempted to cross the border

MOSCOW, July 24. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation at the Azerbaijani-Armenian border with the Russian Security Council, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced Friday.

"During the meeting, Russia’s relations with the CIS countries were discussed, including Azerbaijan and Armenia, primarily in regards to the ongoing escalation at the border between the two republics," Peskov said.

The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishusin, speakers of both chambers of the Russian parliament - Valentina Matviyenko and Vyacheslav Volodin; Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev; head of the presidential administration Anton Vaino; Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev; Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov; Federal Security Service head Alexander Bortnikov; Foreign Intelligence Head Sergey Naryshkin; and Special Presidential Representative on environmental protection, ecology and transportation Sergey Ivanov.

The situation at the border escalated on July 12. Azerbaijan claimed that Armenia attempted to attack its positions with artillery, while Armenia claimed that Azerbaijani troops attempted to cross the border.

Since the beginning of the conflict, Baku reported 12 dead servicemen, while Yerevan reported five dead and nine injured.

On July 24, Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan reported 45 shellings in the past 24 hours.

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the highland region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that had been part of Azerbaijan before the Soviet Union break-up, but primarily populated by ethnic Armenians, broke out in February 1988 after the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1992-1994, tensions boiled over and exploded into large-scale military action for control over the enclave and seven adjacent territories after Azerbaijan lost control of them. Talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement have been ongoing since 1992 under the OSCE Minsk Group, led by its three co-chairs - Russia, France and the United States.