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Special meeting of OSCE Permanent Council held on situation in Nagorno-Karabakh context

Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict Materials 29 September 2020 21:44 (UTC +04:00)
Special meeting of OSCE Permanent Council held on situation in Nagorno-Karabakh context

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 29

Trend:

A special meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council on developments in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict context was convened at 17:00 local time in Vienna today, Sept. 29, by Albania’s 2020 OSCE Chairmanship, Trend reports citing OSCE.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the OSCE’s 57 participating States.

Opening the meeting, Ambassador Igli Hasani, Chair of the Permanent Council, reiterated the Chairmanship’s alarm at the ongoing clashes and deterioration of the situation on the ground. Dismayed by the rising number of casualties, he repeated the OSCE Chairmanship’s call for an immediate de-escalation and offered condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed and injured.

Briefing the Permanent Council, Personal Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, said he was receiving information directly from the ground and local interlocutors at the highest level. Ambassador Kasprzyk said he was in constant communication with the sides, and said his team were ready to resume monitoring on the ground as soon as the situation permits.

Representatives of the Minsk Group Co-Chair countries – France, Russian Federation and the United States – reiterated the Co-Chairs’ appeal to all sides to cease hostilities immediately and to resume negotiations to find a sustainable resolution to the conflict.

The Albanian OSCE Chairmanship repeated the importance of a negotiated solution and its support for the work of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs and Ambassador Kasprzyk in their efforts to stabilize the situation on the ground.

Armenian armed forces launched a large-scale military attack on positions of the Azerbaijani army on the front line, using large-caliber weapons, mortars, and artillery on Sept. 27.

Azerbaijan responded with a counter-offensive along the entire front. As a result of retaliation, Azerbaijani troops managed to liberate the territories previously occupied by Armenia: Garakhanbeyli, Garvend, Kend Horadiz, Yukhari, Ashagi Abdulrahmanli villages (Fuzuli district), Boyuk Marjanli, and Nuzgar villages (Jabrayil district).

Moreover, the positions of the Armenian armed forces were destroyed in the direction of Azerbaijan's Agdere district and Murovdag, important heights were taken under control.

Military actions continued on Sept. 29. Azerbaijani army was able to destroy several tanks of the Armenian Armed Forces, as well as several key military facilities.

Azerbaijan's Dashkesan district underwent fire on the same day from the opposing forces, while Azerbaijani Armed Forces continued military actions on Sept. 29 to liberate the city of Fuzuli from occupation.

Back in July 2020, the Armenian Armed Forces violated the ceasefire in the direction of Azerbaijan's Tovuz district. As a result of Azerbaijan's retaliation, the opposing forces were silenced. The fighting continued the following days as well. Azerbaijan lost a number of military personnel members, who died fighting off the attacks of the Armenian armed forces.

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, 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 the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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