Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 14
Trend:
The Armenian side is refusing to provide information about the missing Azerbaijani serviceman, warrant officer Seymur Bakhishov, the Azerbaijani State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons told Trend Apr. 14.
Armenia does not take appropriate steps for return of the soldier, said the commission.
On the instruction of Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, immediately after the reaching an agreement on suspension the military operations, the Azerbaijani side has fulfilled all the tasks in connection with clarifying the fate of those killed and missing soldiers.
As of Apr. 14, the bodies of 18 servicemen were given to the Armenian side with the participation of international mediators.
The Azerbaijani side also calls on the relevant international structures to show adherence to the issue of clarifying the fate of Seymur Bakhishov, determination of his whereabouts and assist in his return.
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.