The OSCE is ready to hold a new special session on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict if the situation there deteriorates, OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier said, RIA Novosti reported.
He said the OSCE held a special session Apr. 4, adding that the organization's Permanent Council meets and discusses all issues every week. On Apr.7, the OSCE Permanent Council discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and it will also discuss this conflict the next week, Zannier said.
Zannier stressed that the new special meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council with the participation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs will be held when they come back from the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Of course, if the situation in the region deteriorates, the OSCE Permanent Council will have to hold a special meeting, he said. Otherwise, the organization hasn't planned anything yet until the Co-Chairs return, the OSCE secretary general said.
Earlier, Zannier said that the OSCE Minsk Group won't leave the region until further steps for the conflict's settlement are defined.
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.