Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 12
Trend:
Events in Nagorno-Karabakh are a reminder how dangerous a protracted conflict can be, said Federica Mogherini, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy.
She made the remarks Apr. 12 at a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
"The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh was the center of my talks in Armenia and Azerbaijan during my visit there last month," said Mogherini.
She added that the last time this issue was discussed at a plenary session in 2011.
"It is going to be very helpful and useful to discuss the issue now, because the events in Nagorno-Karabakh are another reminder of how dangerous a protracted conflict can be," she stressed.
Mogherini went on to say that the EU is increasing its efforts towards a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
"It [the conflict] continues to pose a threat to regional security in our neighborhood, and it is an obstacle towards development of both countries and of the entire region. South Caucasus is a crucial region for Europe, it lies on the crossroads between Europe, Asia and the Middle East," she added.
Mogherini also stressed that a large scale conflict is not in the interest of anyone and can lead to nowhere.
"Everyone now understands that status quo can only lead to more violence and this is exactly what happened. Let us not underestimate dangers of this conflict, let us turn current situation into an opportunity towards peace," she added.
On the night of April 2, 2016, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire from the Armenian side, which used large-caliber weapons, mortars and grenade launchers. The armed clashes resulted in deaths and injuries among the Azerbaijani population. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-attack, which led to liberation of several strategic heights and settlements.
Military operations were stopped on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian armies on Apr. 5 at 12:00 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours) with the consent of the sides, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry earlier said. Ignoring the agreement, the Armenian side again started violating the ceasefire.
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 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.