BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct. 2
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
Armenia bears full responsibility for the recent outbreak of hostilities within Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Trend reports referring to statetement of Tahir Taghizade, Ambassador of Azerbaijan in the UK.
Taghizade sent a statement on the recent Armenian military aggression against Azerbaijan to the Guardian, which published it as an article (available here). In it, Taghizade emphasized that Nagorno-Karabakh is not a “disputed” region, but an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan, which was occupied and ethnically cleansed by Armenia together with seven adjacent regions of Azerbaijan in flagrant violation of international law.
“Four UN security council resolutions, adopted in 1993 (822, 853, 874, 884) and demanding immediate withdrawal of the Armenian occupying forces from all occupied regions of Azerbaijan, remain unfulfilled,” Taghizade said.
He also added that to consolidate its occupation policy, Armenia established an illegal regime on the occupied lands of Azerbaijan.
Armenian Armed Forces launched a large-scale military attack on positions of 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 liberated a number of territories previously occupied by Armenia, as well as take important, strategic heights under control.
Military actions continued on Sept. 29 - Oct. 1. According to a statement from Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry, the Armenian armed forces have suffered heavy losses along the entire front line from Sept. 27 through Sept. 30, including tanks, armored vehicles, artillery installations, rocket launch systems, as well as command and observation posts, air defense systems, etc.
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.