Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili called on Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan to exert maximum efforts for a peaceful resolution of the tension of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. He made the statement at the international forum on public diplomacy in the framework of NATO Week in Georgia.
"We hope that the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan will make every effort to defuse the tense situation and to achieve a peaceful resolution of the conflict using peaceful, diplomatic means with the active participation of the international community," TASS cited him 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.
