Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 4
By Aygun Badalova, Trend:
Armenians must realize that the future of their children rests with making peace in the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Rob Sobhani, the US Caspian Group Holdings CEO, told Trend Apr. 4.
He outlined the role that France and the US can play to bring peace to the region.
"It is very important that Paris and Washington give this message to Moscow: you must assist in the process of bringing peace to the people of Armenia and Azerbaijan," added Sobhani.
He recalled that on June 28, 1914, the spark that lit the world on fire and led to First World War was one man's assassination of the Archduke of Austria.
"Today we may be witnessing the same spark," added Sobhani.
On the night of Apr. 2, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire from Armenians, who were using large-caliber weapons, mortars, grenade launchers and guns. Azerbaijani settlements near the frontline densely populated by civilians were shelled as well. There are casualties among the civilians as a result of the shelling.
Six Armenian tanks, 15 gun mounts and reinforced engineering structures were destroyed and more than 100 servicemen of the Armenian armed forces were wounded and killed during the shootouts.
Twelve servicemen of the Azerbaijani armed forces heroically died, one Mi-24 helicopter was shot down and one tank was damaged on a mine.
Three more soldiers of Azerbaijan were killed during the past day and night as a result of the ceasefire violation.
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.