Azernews.Az

BAKU – Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has denied the recent killing of an Azerbaijani child on the frontline that has been strongly condemned by Baku.

"These accusations are libelous, as firing upon civilians, particularly children, contradicts the morale of an Armenian soldier," Sargsyan claimed in a meeting with the OSCE mediators brokering settlement to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, his press service said.

"The allegations regarding this incident are empty words, as its occurring in the mentioned territory is technically impossible," Sargsyan said.

The nine-year-old resident of a village in Azerbaijan’s Aghdam region was killed on March 8 in a ceasefire violation by Armenian troops. Fariz Badalov was shot in the head by a sniper while playing in the courtyard. The boy was rushed to a hospital but his life could not be saved.

During the Armenian president’s meeting with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs - Bernard Fassier of France, Robert Bradtke of the United States, and Igor Popov of Russia – as well as OSCE chairman’s personal representative Andrzej Kasprzyk, future steps toward settling the Karabakh conflict were discussed, Sargsyan’s press service said.

Sargsyan said Yerevan was ready to continue peace talks on the basis of the agreements reached during the March 5 meeting of the Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders in Sochi.

Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan issued a joint statement in Sochi committing to swiftly finalize the exchange of prisoners of war and investigate skirmishes along the contact line of the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, under the auspices of the OSCE mediators.

The Minsk Group co-chairs submitted to the Armenian president the final report on their last year’s mission assessing the situation in the Armenia-occupied Azerbaijani territories. The report was presented to President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on Tuesday.

The fact-finding mission of the Minsk Group co-chairs visited the occupied territories surrounding Azerbaijan’s Nagorno Karabakh region October 7-13, 2010 on Baku’s initiative. Three technical experts, including two from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), assisted them in their tasks.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a brutal war that ended with the signing of a fragile cease-fire in 1994. About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory has been occupied by Armenian armed forces since then. Peace talks have largely accomplished no result so far. Sporadic clashes on the frontline continue. Frontline skirmishes killed more than 20 soldiers in 2010.

The status of the Nagorno Karabakh region has been a stumbling block in peace talks. Baku says the occupied districts must be freed and Azerbaijani refugees returned home, and only after that could the status of Nagorno Karabakh be determined within Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, while Armenia insists that self-determination is the core principle for a settlement of the dispute. The mediators are seeking a solution based simultaneously on both principles.