Armenian president off to Nagorno-Karabakh republic
22.06.2016,
15:54
Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan has left today for the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, his press service reported without elaborating.
YEREVAN, June 22. /ARKA/. Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan has left today for the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, his press service reported without elaborating.
Sargsyan’s trip to Nagorno-Karabakh comes after his meetings with Russian and Azerbaijani presidents in Russian St. Petersburg on June 20, dedicated to the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.
In a joint statement issued after the meeting Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s presidents said they reached an “understanding” on issues hampering the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and pledged to prevent ceasefire violations. To this end, they agreed, in particular, to increase the number of international observers in the conflict zone.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted into armed clashes after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s as the predominantly Armenian-populated enclave of Azerbaijan sought to secede from Azerbaijan and declared its independence backed by a successful referendum.
On May 12, 1994, the Bishkek cease-fire agreement put an end to the military operations. A truce was brokered by Russia in 1994, although no permanent peace agreement has been signed. Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh and several adjacent regions have been under the control of Armenian forces of Karabakh.
Nagorno-Karabakh is the longest-running post-Soviet era conflict and has continued to simmer despite the relative peace of the past two decades, with snipers causing tens of deaths a year.
On April 2, 2016, Azerbaijan launched military assaults along the entire perimeter of its contact line with Nagorno-Karabakh. Four days later a cease-fire was reached. ---0---
Sargsyan’s trip to Nagorno-Karabakh comes after his meetings with Russian and Azerbaijani presidents in Russian St. Petersburg on June 20, dedicated to the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.
In a joint statement issued after the meeting Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s presidents said they reached an “understanding” on issues hampering the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and pledged to prevent ceasefire violations. To this end, they agreed, in particular, to increase the number of international observers in the conflict zone.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted into armed clashes after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s as the predominantly Armenian-populated enclave of Azerbaijan sought to secede from Azerbaijan and declared its independence backed by a successful referendum.
On May 12, 1994, the Bishkek cease-fire agreement put an end to the military operations. A truce was brokered by Russia in 1994, although no permanent peace agreement has been signed. Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh and several adjacent regions have been under the control of Armenian forces of Karabakh.
Nagorno-Karabakh is the longest-running post-Soviet era conflict and has continued to simmer despite the relative peace of the past two decades, with snipers causing tens of deaths a year.
On April 2, 2016, Azerbaijan launched military assaults along the entire perimeter of its contact line with Nagorno-Karabakh. Four days later a cease-fire was reached. ---0---
