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Armenia a Azerbaijan have been valuable NATO partners for more than 25 years, Stoltenberg told a news conference after the talks. “We also looked at the crisis in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. I reminded the President that NATO is not involved in this conflict,” Stoltenberg stressed, stating that the cessation of hostilities would be important for both NATO and international security.
“It is vital that all parties now show restraint, adhere to the ceasefire regime and reduce tensions,” the NATO chief said. “Armenia and Azerbaijan need to resume talks in order to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. The efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs remain important,” he added.
Sarkisyan, for his part, pointed out that Turkey, a NATO country, was participating in the conflict. “Many analysts are already saying that this is no longer a war between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan. There is a third party providing political, diplomatic and military support to Azerbaijan that has brought Islamist terrorists into the region. Unfortunately, the country is a member of NATO. It is Turkey. , “said the president.
A ceasefire and talks with the Minsk Group will become possible once Turkey withdraws from the conflict, Sarkisyan said.
Kalnu Karabakh, which was part of the Azerbaijani SSR during the Soviet era, has been a “de facto” independent Republic of Armenia since the early 1990s. Although Azerbaijan has not controlled Nagorno-Karabakh since the collapse of the USSR, it considers the Armenian region to be its territory. Nagorno-Karabakh is also considered by the international community to be part of Azerbaijan, and no country has recognized the region as an independent state.
Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence in 1991. Its secession from Azerbaijan contributed to the outbreak of war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. About 35,000 people lost their lives in the war, and more than a million people in both countries were forced to flee their homes.
Intense hostilities resumed in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on 27 September. The two sides agreed twice this month to abide by the ceasefire, and on both occasions the agreement was terminated shortly after its entry into force. As a result, these ceasefires have had almost no effect.
Yerevan has said 772 Armenian soldiers and 36 civilians have died in the fighting. Baku reports that 63 civilians have been killed, but the number of soldiers killed has not been revealed.
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