Washington calls on Baku and Yerevan to de-escalate the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and return to the negotiating process, the US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.
He noted that the United States, as one of the co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group, will make every effort to bring the parties back to the negotiating process.
"We strongly support the co-chairs’ efforts to mediate a fair and just resolution to Nagorno-Karabakh that is based on the principles of international law, the UN Charter, and the Helsinki Final Act, particularly principles of territorial integrity," Trend cited Toner 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 the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
