Azerbaijan says ceasefire in Karabakh not guarantee of peace

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry stressed that the ceasefire can't be a guarantor of a sustainable peace in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is in the active military phase. The ceasefire can't be a guarantor of sustainable peace. The latest developments on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian armies proved it once again," Trend cited Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hikmet Hajiyev as saying.

Recall, on the night of April 2 all frontier positions of Azerbaijan were exposed to heavy fire from large-caliber weapons, mortars, grenade launchers and guns. In addition, Azerbaijani settlements near the front line, densely populated by civilians, were shelled.

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% of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US, are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.