Today.Az » Politics » US remains committed to helping achieve sustainable Karabakh conflict settlement
15 October 2020 [14:51] - Today.Az


By Trend

The United States remains committed to helping Armenia and Azerbaijan achieve a peaceful and sustainable settlement to Karabakh conflict, Michael Pompeo, US Secretary of State said, Trend reports citing US Department of State.

“As the co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, the US remains committed to helping Azerbaijan and Armenia achieve a peaceful and sustainable settlement to their conflict. We call on both countries to implement their agreed-upon commitments to a ceasefire, and stop targeting civilian areas,” Pompeo said.

On October 11, 2020, at about 2:00 (GMT+4) Armenian Armed Forces fired missiles at multi-apartment residential buildings in the central part of Ganja, the second largest city of Azerbaijan, located outside the frontline zone. As a result, 10 civilians were killed, 35 injured, as well as more than 10 multi-storey buildings and over 100 different objects were damaged.

Armenian Armed Forces launched a large-scale military attack on positions of the Azerbaijani army on the front line, using large-caliber weapons, mortars, and artillery on Sept. 27.

Azerbaijan responded with a counter-offensive along the entire front. As a result of retaliation, Azerbaijani troops liberated a number of territories previously occupied by Armenia, as well as take important, strategic heights under control.

The fighting continued into October 2020, in the early days of which Armenia has launched missile attacks on Azerbaijani cities of Ganja, Mingachevir, Khizi as well as Absheron district.

Following almost two weeks of intensive military confrontations, Armenia and Azerbaijan, with Russia's mediation, have agreed on a temporary ceasefire for humanitarian purposes, for exchange of prisoners of war as well as bodies of the dead.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.



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