Azernews.Az

BAKU – Azerbaijan has issued a warning to Armenia over frequent ceasefire violations, in a statement that follows last week’s agreement signed by the two countries’ leaders that called to reinforce the 1994 ceasefire.

The Defense Ministry said that ahead of talks on settling the Upper (Nagorno) Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijan’s armed forces were ordered to comply with the ceasefire regime. Nonetheless, the opposing side continues to violate truce, further increasing tension on the contact line of the two countries’ troops.

"In the past 24 hours alone, units of the Armenian armed forces opened fire upon Azerbaijani positions in several parts of the frontline. As a result, an Azerbaijani soldier was wounded on October 31. However, the Azerbaijani armed forces, following their instructions, did not retaliate the enemy’s fire.

"Armenia must realize that abusing this is unacceptable, and if it fails to comply with the mutual understanding reached, the Azerbaijani side will have to retaliate."

According to the Azerbaijan Defense Ministry, Armenian troops breached ceasefire four times on Sunday.

The presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s mediation last Wednesday to swap prisoners of war and exchange the bodies of soldiers killed in clashes. The parties signed a joint statement stressing the importance of reinforcing the ceasefire. The signed statement is the second document inked by Presidents Aliyev and Sargsyan. Earlier, in 2008, the two presidents and their Russian counterpart signed a joint statement during their trilateral meeting held outside Moscow.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in conflict for two decades. OSCE-brokered peace talks kicked off after a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a shaky cease-fire in 1994. Armenian armed forces continue to occupy over 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territory. The ceasefire accord was signed in 1994, but peace talks have been largely fruitless so far.