According to the ministry of defense of Armenia, an Armenian serviceman was shot and killed by Azerbaijani forces on Monday close to the border between the two nations; however, Baku dismissed the news as “a complete lie”.

If confirmed, the occurrence would be the first border death since Azerbaijan retook the province in September, during which nearly all 120,000 ethnic Armenians fled the area in a quick military offensive.

Armenia’s defence ministry said in a statement that Azerbaijani forces had opened fire on Monday afternoon on an Armenian position in Bardzruni, near its border with the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan. An investigation is under way into the incident, it said, without providing further details.

Asked about the report, a spokesman for Azerbaijan’s defence ministry told Reuters the Armenian report “does not reflect the truth, it is a complete lie”.

“We categorically deny provocative information from the other side,” he said.

Border skirmishes, often fatal, are not uncommon between the two South Caucasus neighbours.