At least 30 soldiers have been killed in fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces along the frontlines of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, officials of both the countries said.
Both sides blamed the other for the fighting that began overnight.
As Turkey looks south worried about Syria and faces tensions with Russia over the civil war, Turkey's northeastern border heats up.
Fancy that.
UPDATE: Huh:
"In general, it is important for our Turkish neighbors right now to aim at ending their meddling in the internal affairs of other states, be it Iraq or Syria," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
Fancy that. Lovely little neighborhood you have there. It would be a shame if anything happened to it.
UPDATE: It is unclear who broke the long-standing ceasefire.
I suppose I can't rule out that Turkey persuaded Azerbaijan to stir the pot a bit as a warning to Russia.
UPDATE: This article puts the blame on Azerbaijan from internal causes:
Initial evidence points to Azerbaijan initiating the conflict. Its authoritarian president, Ilham Aliyev, has failed over the past decade to diversify the economy from its heavy reliance on oil exports. Protests have escalated as a recession has taken hold and inflation has risen.
That's a dangerous game to play at this particular moment.
UPDATE: Turkey's hand in backing Azerbaijan ("...support Azerbaijan to the end.") against Russia's ally Armenia (where Russia bases troops) indicates more than an internal matter.
UPDATE: A late update from Strategypage on the situation with good background.
