Azerbaijan and Armenia accuse each other of breaking ceasefire

[ad_1]

The ceasefire, which was announced after talks in Moscow that were brokered by Russia, came into effect at midday local time (4 a.m. ET) on Saturday.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a readout that the ceasefire was called “for humanitarian purposes,” allowing for the exchange of prisoners and the bodies of the deceased. It added that the parameters of the agreement would be agreed on separately.

At a press conference in Baku, Hikmet Hajiyev, the assistant to Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, accused Armenia of “violating” the agreed terms.

“Azerbaijan has no claims to the territory of any other state. The goal is to ensure our territorial integrity. If Armenia continues its provocations to violate the ceasefire, Azerbaijan must respond,” Hajiyev said.

This came after the country’s Ministry of Defense said earlier on Saturday that the Armenian army had fired artillery against “a number” of its settlements and had tried to launch an attack towards Aghdara-Tartar and Fizuli-Jabrail.

Armenia denied that it had breached the agreement, denouncing the claim as a “fabrication” and instead alleging that Azerbaijani forces were attacking the city of Hadrut.

The Armenian Ministry of Defense’s spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan said: “The statement of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense about firing in direction of Tartar and Aghdam regions of Azerbaijan is another fabrication.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is located inside the borders of Azerbaijan but is controlled by ethnic Armenians, accused Baku of violating the agreement, adding that Azerbaijan sought to use negotiations “as a cover to prepare itself for further military actions.”

France, which has demanded “an immediate end to hostilities” since fighting broke out between the countries on the morning of September 27, hailed the “humanitarian ceasefire agreement.”

US, France, Russia call for ceasefire as fighting rages in Nagorno Karabakh

In a statement issued by the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Paris urged both parties to adhere to the agreement so that a “permanent cessation of hostilities” could follow.

The ceasefire between Azerbaijan and Armenia came the day after UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet spoke of the suffering that the conflict was inflicting on civilians.

“It is deeply worrying that in recent days we have seen populated areas reportedly targeted and shelled with heavy weaponry in and around the conflict area,” she said.

Bachelet added that both sides had to “uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, abiding by the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution and avoiding the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas.”

The Nagorno-Karabakh region is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, which has long said it will retake the territory.

[ad_2]

SOURCE NEWS

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *