Armenian defense minister travels to Nagorno-Karabakh
YEREVAN. Dec 19 (Interfax) - Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan began an unscheduled visit to the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) on Saturday morning.
Ohanyan will meet with NKR leaders and the command staff of the NKR defense army as part of the cooperation plan between the Armenian and NKR defense ministries, Ohanyan's press secretary Artsrun Hovhannisyan told reporters on Saturday.
"The meetings will focus on issues relating to the situation on the border," Hovhannisyan said.
The situation on the Armenian-Azeri border was "extremely tense" overnight, he also said.
"Azerbaijan is using artillery weapons and tanks again. The Armenian military countered a number of enemy sabotage attacks," the spokesman said.
For its part, the NKR defense ministry said that Azeri armed forces attempted infiltration for sabotage and reconnaissance purposes in the early hours of Saturday morning.
"The enemy was thrown back with casualties to the initial positions. At least two Azeri military were killed and several injured," the ministry said.
Armenia, too, has one casualty: a fatally wounded 19-year-old soldier, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, the Azeri Defense Ministry said that the Armenian military had violated ceasefire on the contact line 89 times in the preceding 24 hours.