Baku Intends to Start New Military Clashes in Karabakh: Pashinyan
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said Azerbaijan intends to start new military clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh and on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, he said on Saturday at a press conference with President of the European Council Charles Michel.
"According to information from unofficial sources, Azerbaijan intends to provoke new military clashes in Artsakh and on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Manifestations of that we see today at the Nakhichevan section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Incidents provoked by Azerbaijan do not allow us to start working on the delimitation and demarcation of the border," Pashinyan said.
Armenia is ready to resume the negotiation process on the final settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group, he added, TASS reported.
"The use of force and massive crimes cannot help resolve the Karabakh conflict, the settlement of which is possible only through negotiations under the auspices of the only format with an international mandate - the OSCE Minsk Group. I have already stated several times that Armenia is ready to resume the negotiation process in accordance with the items of the April 13 statement of the Minsk Group," Pashinyan said.
Baku and Yerevan have disputed the ownership of the region since February 1988. The OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by Russia, the United States, and France, was created as a format for finding ways to peacefully resolve the conflict. It also includes Belarus, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
The situation in the conflict zone around Nagorno-Karabakh escalated on September 27. After a month and a half of fighting in the conflict zone, on November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on the complete cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh.
On April 13, Aliyev said he expects proposals from the Minsk Group on its further functioning and noted that it could play a positive role in the further establishment of a peaceful life in the region. On the same day, the Minsk Group called on the parties to refrain from mutual accusations and begin preparations for constructive negotiations.