Azerbaijan's foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov has sent letters sent letters to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the Chairman of the UN Security Council Louis Michel and the Chairperson of the OSCE Permanent Council Pohl Eberhard in connection with the escalation of the situation along the line of contact as a result of the provocative actions of the Armenian armed forces.
Mammadyarov urged the heads of international organizations to strongly condemn Armenia for violating the ceasefire agreement reached April 5, 2016, to demand Armenia's fully complying with the undertaken commitments and withdraw its troops from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's Spokesman Hikmat Hajiyev said.
He reminded that on the eve and during the 7th UNAOC Global Forum in Baku, the Armenian armed forces have continued shelling Azerbaijani army positions and densely populated areas and facilities located along the contact line of troops, using D-30 howitzers and other weapons prohibited by international conventions, APA reports.
As a result, private and public property in the Azerbaijani district of Terter was seriously damaged, Hajiyev noted.
Mammadyarov noted that Armenia’s provocative actions also undermine the OSCE Minsk Group’s diplomatic efforts towards the settlement of the conflict.
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.
