Defense ministry accuses OSCE co-chairs of 'rekindling war'
The Azerbaijan Defense Ministry has accused the OSCE mediators
brokering settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict of inciting
hostilities.
The ministry spokesman Eldar Sabiroghlu told the press Sunday that the countries co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group, which have failed to strike a peaceful solution to the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh dispute in the past 15 years, voted against a resolution on the situation in the occupied land forwarded by Azerbaijani representatives to the UN General Assembly earlier this month.
The paper asserted Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and demanded unconditional pullout of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories. The United States, Russia and France opposed the document. Nonetheless, the UN GA backed the draft resolution. 39 countries voted for the document.
Sabiroghlu noted that the resolution reflected a negotiated settlement to the long-standing conflict.
"The Minsk Group co-chairs should not have taken such a step. Instead of preventing new bloodshed, they took a one-sided position, and this step is aimed at rekindling war," the spokesman said.
With regard to recent skirmishes on the frontline, Sabiroghlu said ceasefire violations have assumed a wide scale due to Armenia's failure to observe ceasefire.
He said the breaches were mainly observed close to the frontline Aghdam, Khojavand, Fuzuli, Terter and Tovuz districts, but were relatively rare in the Goranboy, Jabrayil, Gazakh and Khanlar districts.
Sabiroghlu said monitoring was conducted on the contact line of the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops three times in the past two months but no incidents were registered. "During the monitoring, the Armenian side observes ceasefire, but breaches it as soon as the monitoring is over."
Four Azerbaijani soldiers were killed and one was injured after Armenian armed forces breached ceasefire in Terter and Goranboy on March 4 in what was described as the worst fighting seen in the region in years. 12 Armenian soldiers died and 15 others were heavily injured during the skirmishes, the Azerbaijan Defense Ministry said.
The ministry spokesman Eldar Sabiroghlu told the press Sunday that the countries co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group, which have failed to strike a peaceful solution to the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh dispute in the past 15 years, voted against a resolution on the situation in the occupied land forwarded by Azerbaijani representatives to the UN General Assembly earlier this month.
The paper asserted Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and demanded unconditional pullout of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories. The United States, Russia and France opposed the document. Nonetheless, the UN GA backed the draft resolution. 39 countries voted for the document.
Sabiroghlu noted that the resolution reflected a negotiated settlement to the long-standing conflict.
"The Minsk Group co-chairs should not have taken such a step. Instead of preventing new bloodshed, they took a one-sided position, and this step is aimed at rekindling war," the spokesman said.
With regard to recent skirmishes on the frontline, Sabiroghlu said ceasefire violations have assumed a wide scale due to Armenia's failure to observe ceasefire.
He said the breaches were mainly observed close to the frontline Aghdam, Khojavand, Fuzuli, Terter and Tovuz districts, but were relatively rare in the Goranboy, Jabrayil, Gazakh and Khanlar districts.
Sabiroghlu said monitoring was conducted on the contact line of the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops three times in the past two months but no incidents were registered. "During the monitoring, the Armenian side observes ceasefire, but breaches it as soon as the monitoring is over."
Four Azerbaijani soldiers were killed and one was injured after Armenian armed forces breached ceasefire in Terter and Goranboy on March 4 in what was described as the worst fighting seen in the region in years. 12 Armenian soldiers died and 15 others were heavily injured during the skirmishes, the Azerbaijan Defense Ministry said.