Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Thursday expressed his condolences over the deaths of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh a day earlier, the Kremlin said in a statement.
“Ilham Aliyev apologised and expressed deep condolences over the tragic death of servicemen of the Russian Peacekeeping Contingent in Karabakh on 20 September,” the Kremlin said in a readout of a telephone call between the leaders.
The incident happened during a military operation launched by Azerbaijan in its breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where Russian peacekeepers are stationed.
The Russian defence ministry said the peacekeepers were killed when the car they were travelling in was fired on with small arms, but did not specify how many had died.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday an investigation was underway, in comments carried by Russian news agencies.
“Some people have been suspended from their duties. Some people have been detained,” Peskov was quoted as saying.
The Russian state-run TASS news agency earlier cited a Russian security source as saying that Azerbaijani armed forces had been responsible for the incident.
