Armenia, Russia to make efforts to settle Nagorno-Karabakh conflict - Russian foreign ministry

YEREVAN, November 21. /TASS/. Armenia will continue its efforts to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict together with Russia, Armenian Foreign Minister Edvard Nalbandyan said on Tuesday after negotiations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. "Armenia intends to continue its efforts for exclusively peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem together with Russia and the co-chairing countries (of the OSCE Minsk Group - TASS)," he stressed. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict escalated in April 2016. Violent skirmishes occurred between the Armenian and Nagorno-Karabakh soldiers and the Azerbaijani army overnight into April 2, 2016, along the Nagorno-Karabakh contact line. The parties blamed one another for ceasefire violation. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), at least 33 people (18 Armenian soldiers, 12 Azerbaijani soldier and three civilians) were killed in the military action on April 2-3, and more than 200 were injured. On April 5, 2016, Azerbaijani and Armenian chiefs of general staff met in Moscow through Russia’s mediation. The parties agreed to ceasefire along the contact line between the Azerbaijani and Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh starting from 12:00 local time (11:00 Moscow time). However, the parties continue reporting regular short-duration firings along the contact line. In a trilateral statement taken on June 20, 2016, after the meeting between the Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents in St. Petersburg, the parties confirmed their commitment to normalization of the situation. Read more