06 October 2020, 18:22
Russia, USA and France call for ceasefire in Karabakh
The parties to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh must immediately stop shelling civilian objects, the countries-co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group have stated. In his turn, Ilham Aliev, President of Azerbaijan, has warned that truce is possible only on the conditions of Azerbaijan.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 5, the NK's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) reported that Stepanakert, the capital, was shelled. In its turn, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence (MoD) reported about artillery and missile attacks on the cities of Ganja, Tartar, Barda, Beylagan and Goradiz and a number of villages.
On September 27, full-scale hostilities began in the Karabakh conflict zone. According to official data, as of October 4, a total of 24 civilians were killed in Azerbaijan, 111 others were wounded. According to Nagorno-Karabakh, 208 soldiers of its Defence Army and 11 civilians perished; 78 others were wounded.
Sergey Lavrov, the head of the Russian MFA, his French colleague, Jean-Yves Le Drian, and Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, have condemned "the unprecedented escalation of violence in the Karabakh conflict zone and beyond," says the website of the Russian MFA.
According to Baku's demands, Armenia "must recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and submit a schedule for the withdrawal of its troops."
At the same time, the rights of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh will be fully ensured as citizens of Azerbaijan, President Aliev said on air of the Turkish TRT Haber TV Channel.
"I am absolutely sure that the Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples will reconcile ... We want to live again as good neighbours with Armenia," Ilham Aliev has stated, stressing that this is possible only if Azerbaijan's demands are fully met.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 6, 2020 at 08:39 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Faik Medjid Source: CK correspondent
