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Turkey can help resolve Karabakh conflict – expert

Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict Materials 20 April 2016 19:56 (UTC +04:00)
Turkey remains the closest country to Azerbaijan and can assist in resolving the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Turkey can help resolve Karabakh conflict – expert

Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 20

By Anakhanum Khidayatova - Trend:

Turkey remains the closest country to Azerbaijan and can assist in resolving the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, says a Turkish expert.

"Iran won't interfere in the process of resolving the conflict and tends to stay neutral in this issue," Yusuf Cinar, president of the Turkish International Research Center 'Strategic Outlook', told Trend Apr. 20.

He was commenting on the role of the region's countries in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

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.

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