President Aliyev receives OSCE MG co-chairs
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has today received the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, James Warlick (US), Igor Popov (Russia), Pierre Andrieu (France) and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Personal Representative Andrzej Kasprzyk.
During the meeting, the parties discussed the latest developments on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian armies.
The co-chairs welcomed the agreement on ceasefire on the frontline. They noted that the current negotiations on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should become more intensive and the conflict should be resolved shortly as a result of these talks.
For over two decades, Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in conflict which emerged over Armenia's territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions.
Over the entire period of its existence, the OSCE Minsk Group, which acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, failed to move forward in resolving the long lasting conflict.
The situation on the frontline aggravated on April 2 after the Armenian military units in the occupied lands started shelling Azerbaijan’s positions.
To protect civilian population, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces launched counter attacks and as a result, the Azerbaijani troops retook hills around the village of Talish, as well as Seysulan settlement, and also took over Lele Tepe hill located in the direction of Fizuli region.
The hostilities renewed in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan on April 4, as the Armenian side continued to shell the Azerbaijani positions although the Azerbaijani side announced unilateral ceasefire on April 3.
The Azerbaijani Army destroyed about 370 enemy soldiers since the start of the hostilities, according to the defense ministry.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have agreed to cease operations on the line of contact starting from 12.00, April 5.
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