Hovhannisyan also said on Monday that the situation on the contact line of the Nagorno-Karabakh region remained tense. Dozens from both sides are thought to have died so far in the conflict. Armenians took over Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent districts from Azerbaijan in the 1991-1994 conflict. One difference between the conflict now and that of 1994 is that both sides have much more deadly and sophisticated weaponry.
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“Everyone understands that the status quo is not only unacceptable, but also unsustainable, and it can not last for another two decades like it has been,”said Azerbajani ambassador to the United States Elin Suleymanov in a telephone interview”.
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry on Wednesday refuted reports about the relinquishment of several strategic heights in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
The cause of this week’s violence is disputed.
In response to pleas from the worldwide community, the Azerbaijan defense ministry reportedly said it will unilaterally be “suspending a counter-offensive and response on the territories occupied by Armenia”.
“Being unable to break the resistance of the Armenian side, the Azerbaijani troops attempted to use heavy military vehicles, combat aircraft, including heavy flamethrower systems and unmanned aerial vehicles”, said the spokesman.
Tensions have been simmering since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, which led to a war between the neighbours over the Armenian-majority territory, is located in Azerbaijan.
The Armenian side accused Azerbaijan of shelling its positions, killing two Armenian soldiers overnight.
The Minsk Group co-chairs “stressed that it is important to return to the political process on the basis of a sustainable ceasefire”. He added that there was no fighting during daytime Wednesday.
Amissile is fired by Azerbaijani forces in the village of Gapanli, Azerbaijan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin – the key regional power broker – on Tuesday urged both Azerbaijan and Armenia to “ensure” the truce holds.
In a much-anticipated mediation attempt, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will be traveling to Azerbaijan’s capital on Thursday while Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will be in Armenia’s Yerevan on the same day.
“Russia says that Turkey is taking sides”.
President Rouhani said there is no military solution to the Karabakh issue. Each party put enemy losses in the hundreds, rival claims that couldn’t be independently verified.
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Mother of Karabakh military officer Armenak Urfanyan grieves at a coffin with the body of her son who was killed in fighting around Nagorno-Karabakh, during a funeral ceremony in a church in Yerevan, Armenia, Tuesday, April 5, 2016.
