Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 6
Trend:
The US welcomes the confirmation of a ceasefire between Azerbaijan and Armenia and urges the sides to adhere to it, the US Embassy in Azerbaijan wrote in its Facebook page Apr. 6.
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.
"The Minsk Group Co-Chairs, with the support of the Minsk Group and the German OSCE Chairmanship, are traveling to the region to encourage the sides to enter into immediate negotiations on a comprehensive settlement under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group," the US Embassy said.
As an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair country, the US is firmly committed to working with the sides to reach a lasting peace over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, according to the embassy.
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.