Baku, Azerbaijan, May 18
By Aygun Badalova - Trend:
Fragile ceasefire is better than war, but it is a temporary solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Nathalie Goulet, member of the French Senate, told Trend May 18.
"I think that the ceasefire is the best solution under one condition - the good will of both parties," she said.
Goulet pointed out that Azerbaijan pursues wise policy by not answering the Armenian provocations.
Armenians are very gifted to show themselves as victims, she said, adding that this victimization is not adequate to the current situation.
The French senator noted that Armenia is the aggressor according to international resolutions.
Further, Goulet said that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs are now aware that the "frozen" conflict needs urgent solution.
She said that Russia is now looking ready to be more involved in the process of the conflict's settlement. Goulet went on to add that currently France and the US are in a stormy political time, with major presidential and parliamentary elections, and thus Armenian lobby in those countries will not meet any strong opposition.
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.
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