STEPANAKERT, MAY 17, ARMENPRESS. The NKR Defense Ministry informs that overnight May 16-17 the Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire agreement by firing various caliber weapons and infantry fighting vehicles (30 shells) , 60mm mortars (16 shells) and automatic grenade launchers (32 shells) in the Karabakh-Azerbaijani line of contact. More intensive violations were recorded in the southeastern (Hadrut) and eastern (Martuni) directions of the contact line.

It is important to state that the Azerbaijani armed forces committed destabilizing and provocative actions during the meeting of the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Vienna which was organized by the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. As a result, on May 17 at 00:50 an NKR soldier Khachatur V. Harutyunyan (born in 1996) was mortally wounded in one of the Defense Army positions located in the southern direction. An investigation is underway.

The NKR Defense Ministry shares the grief of the loss and expresses its support to the family members, relatives and co-servicemen of the killed soldier.

The NKR Defense Ministry announces that the Azerbaijani side should bear all the responsibility for the consequences of the tension in the frontline.