Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a threat to regional stability, British minister for Europe says

YEREVAN, November 3. / ARKA /. The ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a threat to the stability of the region as well as Europe, British minister for Europe, David Lidington, said today in Yerevan.

Speaking at joint news conference with Armenian foreign minister Edward Nalbandian he said the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a source of concern for the United Kingdom as well. He said the United Kingdom emphasizes greatly the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group for searching a political solution to the conflict. 

"The international community should double the assistance to the OSCE Minsk Group in order to end the human tragedy of the conflict, which has been lasting for a very long time. We want the peace brokers to make progress as soon as possible,” he said.

The Karabakh conflict started in 1988 when the prevailingly Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh declared withdrawal from Azerbaijan. On December 10, 1991, a referendum was held in Nagorno-Karabakh where 99.89% voted for independence from Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan responded by large-scale military operations that led to loss of control not only over Nagorno-Karabakh itself, but also over seven adjoining areas. About 30 thousand people were killed and about a million had to leave their homes during the military operations. 

A trilateral cease-fire agreement was signed on May 12, 2004, and has been followed since then. The ongoing Karabakh peace process started in 1992 under auspices of OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the USA, Russia and France. –0--