Azernews.Az

By Jamila Babayeva

Azerbaijan's Defense Minister, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov held talks with the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman, Andzei Kaspshik on the current situation on the contact line between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops.

During the meeting, the two sides also exchanged views on the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the prospects for negotiations.

OSCE periodically monitors the contact line of Armenian and Azerbaijani troops. This comes as Armenian troops continue violating ceasefire on the contact line.

The last monitoring was held on February 18 under the mandate of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Personal Representative on the contact line. The monitoring passed without incidents.

Armenian armed forces fired OSCE monitoring group on January 23. The Armenian side opened the fire after the completion of the monitoring on the contact line between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops to the north of the Fizuli-Horadiz road of Azerbaijan's Fizuli region.

Azerbaijan`s Defense Ministry reported that the Armenian armed forces shattered ceasefire with Azerbaijan 10 times throughout the day.

The ceasefire was violated in Garakhanbayli village of Fuzuli region, Yusifjanli village of Aghdam region, Kuropatkino village of Khojavand region, as well as nameless hills of Goranboy and Jabrayil regions on February 19-20.

The Armenian forces became silent after a retaliatory fire by Azerbaijani forces.

Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that caused a brutal war in the early 1990s.

The UN Security Council's four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal have not been enforced to this day.

Peace talks, mediated by Russia, France and the US and the OSCE Minsk Group are underway on the basis of a peaceful outline -called Madrid Principle -proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs. The negotiations have been largely fruitless so far.