FM: Karabakh should become part of negotiation process

Azerbaijan has always exacerbated the situation, Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR/Artsakh) Minister of Foreign Affairs Karen Mirzoyan told Sky News Arabia.

In response to the query on why the situation at the Karabakh conflict zone has aggravated after more than twenty years, Mirzoyan specifically noted:

“I disagree with the observation that the ceasefire regime, which was signed in 1994, was not violated here for twenty years. Azerbaijan has always made the situation worse, especially during the last years—since 2014—, it resorted to various provocations.

“Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and the international community made calls upon Azerbaijan that it put an end to the tension, but these calls did not reach the Azerbaijani side.

“And in April this year, Azerbaijan resorted to large-scale [military] actions at the Karabakh-Azerbaijan Line of Contact, also using heavy military equipment and firing missiles at not only the [Karabakh Armenian] armed forces, but also the civilians.” 

The NKR FM added that including Nagorno-Karabakh in the negotiation process is a key issue.

The situation at the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone dramatically escalated in the early morning hours on April 2. From regular shootings and frequent sabotage-reconnaissance attempts, Azerbaijan switched to large-scale attacks all along the Karabakh-Azerbaijan Line of Contact, using a variety of weaponry as well as artillery, armored vehicles, and air force. Both sides have suffered casualties.

On Tuesday at noon, however, the parties agreed to cease fire along the Line of Contact of between the Karabakh-Azerbaijani armed forces. Even though there are no direct battles since then, Azerbaijan continues to fire shots on a regular basis.