The Armenian-backed breakaway statelet of Nagorny Karabakh said its airforce would conduct military exercises from Tuesday, sparking fury in Azerbaijan ahead of UN talks. The ex-Soviet state of Azerbaijan and separatists backed by Armenia fought a war over Karabakh in the early 1990s. A ceasefire was agreed in 1994 but the two countries remain locked in a bitter dispute with frequent exchanges of fire.
Political tensions over the breakaway territory, which lies inside Azerbaijan, have increased since popular reformer Nikol Pashinyan came to power in Armenia in May on the back of mass protests against the old elites. Nagorny Karabakh's defence ministry said the drills would be conducted until Friday with the aim of improving pilot skills.
The exercises come ahead of planned talks between the two countries at the United Nations against the backdrop of the latest flare-up in tensions. Azerbaijan condemned Armenia and said it would shoot down any aircraft near Azerbaijani positions, calling the exercises a "provocation" aimed at increasing tensions. "All responsibility for possible losses will entirely rest with the military and political leadership of Armenia," the defence ministry said in a statement.