Azerbaijani soldier killed in Armenian provocation UPDATE

An Azerbaijani serviceman has been killed as a result of Armenian provocation, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry.

An Azerbaijani Army soldier Orkhan Novruzalizade, killed as a result of a provocation by the Armenian Armed Forces, will be buried in the cemetery of Vurgun village in the Aghstafa district.

The 1998-born Novruzalizade served in the Azerbaijani Army for almost two years as an extra-enlisted soldier, according to Report.

Earlier, the Defence Ministry said that Armenian troops seriously wounded an Azerbaijani soldier before opening mortar fire at Azerbaijani army positions in the mountainous area on the conditional border between the sides.

The ministry added that units of the Armenian Armed Forces are currently active in the Zod direction of the Basarkechar district, concentrating additional manpower and military equipment.

It stressed that "thus, the Armenian side is trying to prepare the ground for another provocation". 

The ministry declared that the entire responsibility for the tension "lies precisely with Armenia’s military-political leadership".

The escalation came just three days before talks between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev which European Council President Charles Michel is due to host in Brussels on May 14.