Baku, Azerbaijan, April 2
Trend:
OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is actively involved in the efforts to de-escalate the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, OSCE website reported.
According to the information, he is extremely concerned about the situation, as the ceasefire violations seem to have reached a new quality compared to previous years.
The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office held a telephone conversation with the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandjan and will also speak to the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov.
Steinmeier is calling on the sides to cease hostilities immediately.
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 withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.