Baku, Azerbaijan, March 31
By Anakhanum Khidayatova - Trend:
The US Minsk Group co-chair James Warlick is expected to report to the OSCE Minsk Group on the renewed violence and mediation efforts on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
Warlick tweeted the news, saying that making peace in Nagorno Karabakh should be made a priority. He didn't provide any further details.
Meanwhile, Armenian armed forces have broken the ceasefire with Azerbaijan 37 times in numerous positions in the last 24 hours, Azerbaijani defense ministry said on Mar.31. On March 30 Armenian media outlets reported that the armed forces have lost seven soldiers in the clashes with the Azerbaijani side on the contact line.
Azerbaijan's defense ministry earlier on March 19 stated that after the Armenian armed forces broke the ceasefire yet again, the local armed forces delivered a heavy blow to the enemy side on the front line, destroying and injuring up to 20 Armenian soldiers as a result of another armed clash.
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 the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.