The tension on the contact line between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops undermines the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, US co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick tweeted.
“Renewed violence in Nagorno-Karabakh is tragic and violates the ceasefire,” he wrote. “While the sides blame each other, the actions undermine the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”
The Armenian armed forces violate the ceasefire every day. They fire at the Azerbaijani positions in various areas of the contact line, the Azerbaijani defense ministry said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.
As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Trend