AZERBAIJAN and Armenia accused each other of violating a new cease-fire to halt fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, which was due to take effect yesterday.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said Armenian forces had shelled the town of Terter and nearby villages in “gross violation” of the truce, which was announced by Washington on Sunday and was due to start at 8 a.m. local time.

Armenia’s Defense Ministry said Azerbaijani forces had “grossly violated” the cease-fire with artillery fire on combat positions in various parts of the frontline.

The U.S. State Department said on Sunday that a humanitarian cease-fire would take effect yesterday in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The announcement came after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held separate meetings with the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Washington on Friday.

Those meetings were joined by the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, formed to mediate the conflict and led by France, Russia and the United States, which described them as “intensive discussions” on the cease-fire and the beginning of talks about core elements of a comprehensive solution.

The Minsk Group said its co-chairs and the foreign ministers agreed to meet again in Geneva on Thursday.

“Congratulations to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who just agreed to adhere to a cease-fire effective at midnight. Many lives will be saved,” U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter.

But the eruption of new fighting Sunday and the collapse of two previous ceasefires brokered by Russia raised questions about the prospects for this fresh push to end the clashes.

The ongoing armed conflict broke out Sept. 27 along the contact line of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at loggerheads over the mountainous region since 1988. Peace talks have been held since 1994 when a ceasefire was reached, although there have been minor sporadic clashes. (SD-Xinhua)