Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec.7
Trend:
Sabotage attempts of the Armenians have been resolutely prevented in recent days due to vigilance of units of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border and along the contact line of the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, the press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said Dec.7.
Escalation of tensions by the Armenians forced Azerbaijan to retaliate. During the day, as the result of fire strikes over the Armenian positions, the enemy suffered heavy losses, estimated by dozens of people, as well as several pieces of military equipment, the message said.
The Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan said that military and political leadership of Armenia is responsible for aggravation of the situation on the contact line of troops.
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.