President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs Pierre Andrieu (France), Igor Popov (Russia) and James Warlick (the US), as well as the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Andrzej Kasprzyk.
The sides discussed the latest developments on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops.
The co-chairs welcomed the agreement on a ceasefire on the frontline. They noted that the current negotiations on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should become more intensive and the conflict should be resolved shortly as a result of these talks, Trend reports.
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.
