Armenia and Azerbaijan ceasefire comes into force

A ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan has come into force on Saturday (October 10).

But within minutes of the truce taking effect, both countries are accusing each other of swiftly violating the terms of the ceasefire in the breakaway enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

It raises questions about how meaningful the truce would turn out to be.

The ceasefire, brokered by Russia, was meant to halt fighting to allow ethnic Armenian forces in the enclave and Azeri forces to swap prisoners and war dead.

But the Armenian defence ministry accused Azerbaijan of shelling a settlement inside Armenia, while ethnic Armenian forces in Karabakh alleged that Azeri forces had launched a new offensive.

Meanwhile, the Azeri defence ministry posted multiple videos of airstrikes at military vehicles, without mentioning exact locations or dates.

Azerbaijan also accused enemy forces in Karabakh of shelling Azeri territory.

Both sides have consistently denied each others' assertions about military activity.

Residents in the enclave are skeptical of the ceasefire as they deal with the aftermath of shellings.

A statement from the Azeri President Ilham Aliyev may suggest that the ceasefire was not completely dead.

He said the warring parties were now engaged in trying to find a political settlement.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who helped mediate, said on Saturday that the two sides had agreed to enter into what he called substantive peace talks.

The Moscow ceasefire talks were the first diplomatic contact between the two since fighting over the mountainous enclave erupted on Sept. 27, killing hundreds of people.

The enclave is internationally-recognised as part of Azerbaijan but is populated and governed by ethnic Armenians.

Renewed fighting in the decades-old conflict has raised fears of a wider war drawing in Turkey, a close ally of Azerbaijan, and Russia, which has a defence pact with Armenia.

The clashes have also increased concern about the security of pipelines that carry Azeri oil and gas to Europe.