Karabakh accuses Azerbaijan of intentionally narrowing space for peaceful settlement of conflict
YEREVAN, September 26. / ARKA /. Nagorno-Karabakh authorities accused Azerbaijan of purposefully and deliberately narrowing the space for the resolution of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict peacefully.
Nagorno-Karabakh's defense ministry said Friday that four ethnic Armenian soldiers were killed by artillery and gunfire from Azerbaijani forces, one day after Armenia said three civilian women were killed by Azerbaijani fire in Armenia's Tavush region.
A spokeswoman for Nagorno-Karabakh foreign ministry Ani Sargsyan said it was regrettable that Azerbaijan was grossly violating the ceasefire at a time when the international peace brokers from the OSCE Minsk Group were having meetings with Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in New York on the sidelines of the 70th session of UN General Assembly with a view to de-escalate the tension.
"Rejecting the mechanisms for investigating incidents on the contact line between the armed forces of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan is creating and using a situation in which the international mediators are unable to reveal the true culprit of the aggravation of the situation. Azerbaijan intentionally and deliberately is narrowing the space for the resolution of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict peacefully,' Sargsyan said.
The Nagorno-Karabakh foreign ministry called upon the international community to exert effective methods to sober Azerbaijani authorities and take steps to eradicate the causes of escalation of the tension.
In another statement the Armenian defense ministry said it will now use artillery and rockets to subdue the enemy, thus to contribute to the negotiation process on the Karabakh settlement. The statement accused Azerbaijan of using, for the first time since the establishment of truce in 1994, 122-mm guns to shell Armenian forces in the rear.
The statement stresses that Armenia's restraint stemming from its desire to contribute to the political process of the conflict settlement, as well as the reaction of the OSCE Minsk Group and the international organizations have no effect on Azerbaijan that continues gross breaches of the ceasefire, creating an illusion of superiority of its own armed forces, pushing itself to new adventurous actions in the atmosphere of impunity.
"Therefore, to subdue the enemy, prevent its actions and thus promote the negotiation process the Armenian armed forces will now use appropriate artillery and rocket means of destruction to control movements of Azeri troops, military equipment and manpower," the statement said.
Karabakh conflict broke out in 1988 when Karabakh, mainly populated by Armenians, declared its independence from Azerbaijan. On December 10, 1991, a few days after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a referendum took place in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the majority of the population (99.89%) voted for secession from Azerbaijan.
Afterwards, large-scale military operations began. As a result, Azerbaijan lost control over Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven regions adjacent to it. Some 30,000 people were killed in this war and about one million people fled their homes.
On May 12, 1994, the Bishkek cease-fire agreement put an end to the military operations. Тalks brokered by OSCE Minsk Group are being held over peaceful settlement of the conflict. The group is co-chaired by USA, Russia and France. ---0-----
Nagorno-Karabakh's defense ministry said Friday that four ethnic Armenian soldiers were killed by artillery and gunfire from Azerbaijani forces, one day after Armenia said three civilian women were killed by Azerbaijani fire in Armenia's Tavush region.
A spokeswoman for Nagorno-Karabakh foreign ministry Ani Sargsyan said it was regrettable that Azerbaijan was grossly violating the ceasefire at a time when the international peace brokers from the OSCE Minsk Group were having meetings with Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in New York on the sidelines of the 70th session of UN General Assembly with a view to de-escalate the tension.
"Rejecting the mechanisms for investigating incidents on the contact line between the armed forces of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan is creating and using a situation in which the international mediators are unable to reveal the true culprit of the aggravation of the situation. Azerbaijan intentionally and deliberately is narrowing the space for the resolution of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict peacefully,' Sargsyan said.
The Nagorno-Karabakh foreign ministry called upon the international community to exert effective methods to sober Azerbaijani authorities and take steps to eradicate the causes of escalation of the tension.
In another statement the Armenian defense ministry said it will now use artillery and rockets to subdue the enemy, thus to contribute to the negotiation process on the Karabakh settlement. The statement accused Azerbaijan of using, for the first time since the establishment of truce in 1994, 122-mm guns to shell Armenian forces in the rear.
The statement stresses that Armenia's restraint stemming from its desire to contribute to the political process of the conflict settlement, as well as the reaction of the OSCE Minsk Group and the international organizations have no effect on Azerbaijan that continues gross breaches of the ceasefire, creating an illusion of superiority of its own armed forces, pushing itself to new adventurous actions in the atmosphere of impunity.
"Therefore, to subdue the enemy, prevent its actions and thus promote the negotiation process the Armenian armed forces will now use appropriate artillery and rocket means of destruction to control movements of Azeri troops, military equipment and manpower," the statement said.
Karabakh conflict broke out in 1988 when Karabakh, mainly populated by Armenians, declared its independence from Azerbaijan. On December 10, 1991, a few days after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a referendum took place in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the majority of the population (99.89%) voted for secession from Azerbaijan.
Afterwards, large-scale military operations began. As a result, Azerbaijan lost control over Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven regions adjacent to it. Some 30,000 people were killed in this war and about one million people fled their homes.
On May 12, 1994, the Bishkek cease-fire agreement put an end to the military operations. Тalks brokered by OSCE Minsk Group are being held over peaceful settlement of the conflict. The group is co-chaired by USA, Russia and France. ---0-----