Moscow, Russia, Apr. 19
By Orkhan Yolchuyev - Trend:
Russia as one of the mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has to help the conflict sides to find solution and bring the positions closer, said Mariya Zakharova, spokesperson for Russia's Foreign Ministry, Trend's special correspondent reported.
Zakharova made the remarks at a press center in Moscow Apr. 19.
"Our task is to create an appropriate atmosphere for the continuation of this work," she said.
She noted that the aggravation like the recent events undermines the atmosphere, which helps the conflict's settlement.
Zakharova added that Russia's task is to bring the situation, which was thrown back, to its previous positions.
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.
Edited by SI