OSCE monitors contact line between Azerbaijani, Armenian armies

Monitoring was held on the contact line between Armenian and Azerbaijani armed forces north of the Ashagi Veyselli village ofAzerbaijan's Khojavand region today without incidents, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry press officer Teymur Abdullayev said.

The monitoring was held on the Azerbaijani side by OSCE Chairman-in-Office Personal Representative field assistants Imre Palatinus and Jaslan Nurtazin.

The monitoring was held on the opposite side by OSCE Chairman-in-Office Personal Representative Andrzej Kasprzyk, field assistants Antal Herdich and Christo Christov.  

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994.

The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions.