An Azerbaijani drone attack killed an Armenian soldier on May 12

Azerbaijani forces on Friday launched a drone attack on Armenia’s Gegharkunik province, as a result of which 20-year-old Narek Baghdasaryan was killed, Armenia’s Defense Ministry reported.

At around 10 a.m. local time on Friday used a drone to target the Sotk village in the Gegharkunik province. The Azerbaijani attacks continued at 7:10 p.m. local time, when Armenian military forces in the Kut village were attacked.

Friday’s attack came a day after a massive launched by Azerbaijan targeting the Sotk, Verin Shorzha and Norabak villages all in the Vartenis region of the Gegharkunik Province in northeastern Armenia.

Armenia’s Defense Ministry reported that two Armenia soldiers were also injured during Friday’s attack. On Thursday, four soldiers were reportedly injured.

The Azeri drone strike comes a day after Azeri forces bombarded Armenian positions in the same area in an unprovoked attack. 

The heaving fighting comes days before Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan are scheduled to meet in Brussels to discuss normalizing relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan in a talks hosted by European Council President Charles Michel.

After holding four-day-long talks in Washington last week, the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhun Bayramov, are also scheduled to meet in Moscow later next week.

After Thursday’s offensive, Pashinyan accused Azerbaijan of deliberately derailing the talks and attempting to use military force against Armenia in hopes of concessions during the internationally-mediated meetings.

Armenia’s foreign ministry condemned Thursday’s attack, saying that Azerbaijan seems to have forgotten the commitments it made during the talks last week in Washington.