Armenia PM accuses Azerbaijan of ceasefire violation

Armenia and Azerbaijan on Monday accused each other of violating the new cease-fire announced the day before in a bid to halt the fighting over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh that has killed hundreds, and possibly thousands, in just four weeks.

In his televised address to the nation on Monday via Facebook, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian accused Azerbaijan of violating the ceasefire agreement.

"Due to the actions of Azerbaijan, the ceasefire regime could not be maintained. I want to state that the third attempt to maintain the ceasefire regime failed," he said.

Pashinian also said that Armenia is ready for concessions that may be "painful, but the Armenian people will never be ready to surrender."

The truce that took effect Monday morning was agreed upon on Sunday after talks facilitated by the United States.

It was a third attempt to establish a lasting cease-fire in the flare-up of a decades-old conflict.

Two previous Russia-brokered cease-fires, including one last weekend, frayed immediately after taking force, with both sides blaming each other for violations.