Azerbaijan and Armenia exchanged blame for tensions at the border that culminated in injuries on both sides on December 9 in fresh confrontations.

On December 9, Armenia's military reported two of its soldiers were injured, while Azerbaijan said Armenian forces murdered one of its soldiers in a "provocation."

An Azerbaijani soldier "was murdered overnight as a consequence of a provocation by Armenia's military forces" near the nations' shared border, according to Baku's Defence Ministry. "Armenia's political and military authorities bear full responsibility for the escalation," the ministry stated in a statement.

Today, the border battles have continued. Armenia reported one dead and eight wounded soldiers.   

Since the end of the war in 1994, Armenia and Azerbaijan have been involved in a decades-long conflict over the area of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Moscow brokered a peace deal last November to end six weeks of fighting over the territory, during which more than 6,600 people were killed.

Tensions on the border between the two countries have been rising since May, and skirmishes have been recorded since then.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia welcomed leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for discussions in Sochi last month. Following the discussion, Putin stated that the three presidents agreed to develop procedures for delimitation and demarcation of the two nations' border by the end of the year. The discussions, which focused on addressing conflicts from last year's battle, were hailed as a success by all parties.

Nine Armenian soldiers and seven Azerbaijani soldiers were killed in the deadliest combat since the Karabakh war less than two weeks ago. They also discussed reopening Soviet-era transportation lines between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which are currently closed due to a mutual boycott.

Following the cease-fire, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan established a peace framework that included Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Iran, and Turkey. Ankara, which has no diplomatic relations with Armenia, has expressed hope that the forum will help restore relations.

"On December 10 in Moscow, the first meeting of the regional cooperation platform in the 3+3 format suggested for the creation of sustainable peace and stability in the South Caucasus will take place," the Foreign Ministry stated.

Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia, Iran, and Turkey would be represented at the deputy foreign ministers’ level, according to the statement, although it did not go into detail on Georgia's involvement. Azerbaijan released ten Armenian troops.

On December 15, Aliyev, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will meet in Brussels for discussions mediated by European Council President Charles Michel.