A serious political process is needed for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said during a telephone conversation with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said.
The Minister informed Mogherini that several civilians were killed and wounded as a result of shelling of the Armenian armed forces.
Mammadyarov also informed the commissioner that the main cause of tensions is the illegal presence of Armenian troops in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani Foreign minister stressed that Armenian troops should be withdrawn from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, Interfax-Azerbaijan reports.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.
