Armenia blamed Azerbaijan for the death of its two soldiers in the town of Sotk on Friday.

Armenia's defense ministry claimed that the Azerbaijani army fired at the positions of the victims near the said area.

The shooting also wounded one Armenian soldier, the ministry added.

Tensions between Baku and Yerevan have escalated sharply in recent months, as both sides accuse the other of violating agreements and cross-border gunfire.

The latest shooting incident also marks another setback to the tenuous peace process between the two ex-Soviet republics, which have for decades been locked in a bitter dispute over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Yerevan and Baku have fought two wars for control over the region, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but largely populated by ethnic Armenians.

  WITH AFP