BAKU, September 20. /TASS/. Azerbaijan’s armed forces maintain constant communication with Russian peacekeepers deployed in Karabakh, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry Spokesman Anar Eyvazov said.

"We are maintaining constant immediate interaction with representatives from the Russian peacekeeping contingent, all conditions are being ensured for the peacekeepers to fulfill their obligations," he said.

The spokesman also refuted claims by the Armenian side that Azerbaijani units allegedly had shelled a convoy of civilians being evacuated from Karabakh escorted by the peacekeepers.

On September 19, tensions flared up again in Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku announced it was launching what it described as "local anti-terrorist measures" and demanded the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the region. Yerevan, in turn, said there were no Armenian forces in Karabakh, calling what was happening "an act of large-scale aggression." Residents of the Armenian capital took to the streets to protest outside the Armenian government building, blaming the country’s leadership and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for the situation.

The command of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh said that civilians were being evacuated and urged the parties to the conflict to an immediate ceasefire. The Russian Foreign Ministry called on the conflicting sides to prevent civilian casualties and stop the bloodshed, as well as return to implementing the trilateral agreements between the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.