MOSCOW, October 22. /TASS/: The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can only be resolved by peaceful means with the assistance of the OSCE Minsk Group, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"Consistently pursuing the position of excluding the military settlement of the conflict, we once again emphasize that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can be resolved exclusively by peaceful means, within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, which holds an international mandate," the statement reads.
Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The area experienced flare-ups of violence in the summer of 2014, in April 2016 and this past July. Azerbaijan and Armenia have imposed martial law and launched mobilization efforts. Both parties to the conflict have reported casualties, among them civilians.
Moscow brokered a humanitarian ceasefire that took effect at 12 noon local time on October 10 but was violated. Later, the Foreign Ministries of Armenia and Azerbaijan announced plans to declare another ceasefire at midnight on October 18, but the hostilities continue and the warring parties keep blaming each other for violating the truce.
Baku and Yerevan have disputed sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh since February 1988, when the region declared secession from the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic. In the armed conflict of 1992-1994 Azerbaijan lost control of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjoining districts.
