Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 9
By Ilhame Isabalayeva - Trend:
Armenian military opened fire on the Azerbaijani settlements, located near the contact line between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, said the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan Dec. 9.
Armenians used mortars and large-caliber weapons to shell the Azerbaijani settlements.
The Defense Ministry warned that Azerbaijan's army will take retaliatory measures to destroy positions and military objects of the enemy, located in the settlements near the contact line in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan, adding that the responsibility for this lies upon Armenia's criminal regime.
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.