Large clashes broke out between forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan along the border between the two countries Monday night, according to Azerbaijani and Armenian Defense Ministries. The latest attacks threatened to undermine a Russia-brokered cease-fire.

Armenia accused Azerbaijan of shelling in the direction of the southern Armenian towns of Goris, Kapan and Jermuk. It said that Azerbaijan was also using unmanned drones.

However, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry denied starting the attacks, saying its forces were carrying out “local counter-measures in retaliation for large scale Armenian provocation.” It said there had been no incursion into Armenian territory.

Also Read | Ex-Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid pleads guilty to DWI charge

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken appealed for an end to fighting near the border.

“The United States is deeply concerned about reports of attacks along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, including reported strikes against settlements and civilian infrastructure inside Armenia,” Blinken said in a statement posted Monday on the State Department’s website. “We urge an end to any military hostilities immediately.”

On Monday, Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense accused Armenian forces of firing in small arms in the directions of the Novoivanovka settlement of Gadabay region and Husulu settlement of Lachin region near the border of the two countries. But, Armenia denied the allegations.

Tensions between the two countries have been ongoing for decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union, when the region, backed by Armenia, declared independence from Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan has long claimed it will retake the territory, which is internationally recognized as Azerbaijani.

Last month, the two neighboring Caucasus states clashed over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, a landlocked area between Eastern Europe and Western Asia. The region is controlled by ethnic Armenians but located in Azerbaijani territory.

Also Read | Police kill man who shot Toronto officer and 1 other person

A ceasefire agreement between the two countries was brokered by Russia in early November 2020 which ended an almost two-month conflict that killed at least 6,500 people, according to Reuters.

Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu agreed Tuesday morning to take steps to stabilize the situation along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.