Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry has commented on the information spread in the Armenian media about the alleged provocation by the Azerbaijani side on the frontline, a source in the Defense Ministry said on September 23 in response to a request by Trend.

It was noted that this information is a lie.

On September 22, Ramin Abdulrahmanov, an Azerbaijani soldier of a frontline military unit, lost his way and was shot dead by Armenians in the territory between the positions of the parties, the ministry said.

To ensure the safe evacuation of the soldier’s body, an appeal was made to the Azerbaijani representative office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding regions.