The frozen Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan has simmered for decades. Russia has allied itself with Armenia has sold weapons to both sides in the conflict. Russia has also stationed troops there for some time. Over the weekend, a Russian soldier was killed in a knife attack.
Regional prosecutor Karen Gabrielian said the soldier was attacked Saturday at a store near the military base in the city of Gyumri. Local news reports said a suspect has been arrested. Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti cited the military’s southern command as saying that preliminary indications were the attack was sparked by a domestic dispute, reports AP.
Armenia is a former territory of the Russian tsar and a prime candidate for greater cooperation with Russia in Moscow’s attempts to reestablish old imperial Russian alliances. Tensions in the area have been high since a Russian soldier killed seven members of a local family in 2015 and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
