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The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is sometimes described as a frozen conflict and this is misleading, as the ceasefire breaches on the contact line of Azerbaijani and Armenian troops continue, the UK Foreign Office Minister Mark Simmonds said yesterday in a debate on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the UK parliament.
The UK is concerned by the on-going ceasefire breaches along both the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, Simmonds said, according to the official page in a social network of the UK embassy in Azerbaijan.
In his speech, Mark Simmonds said that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict continues to hamper development in both Armenia and Azerbaijan and causes further instability in an already troubled South Caucasus region.
The UK strongly supports the work of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group-led peace process, Simmonds said.
The Co-Chairs work hard to facilitate progress and the international community stands ready to provide further support, according to Simmonds.
The Minister also urged both sides to exercise restraint and assured the British government is committed to doing everything it can to foster efforts towards resolution of the conflict.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven 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 peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four resolutions on the
liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Trend.az
