Opinions & Interviews
Lukashenko calls for dialogue between Nagorny Karabakh conflict parties
MINSK, 2 April (BelTA) – Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko called for dialogue between the parties to the conflict in Nagorny Karabakh. The issue was discussed during the telephone talks of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia President Serzh Sargsyan, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian leader.
In the evening of 2 April, Alexander Lukashenko and Serzh Sargsyan had a telephone talk to discuss the situation in Nagorny Karabakh. Earlier in the day. the Belarusian head of state had a telephone conversation with Ilham Aliyev.
The President of Belarus expressed concern over the situation in the zone of the Nagorny Karabakh conflict. The Belarusian head of state called for dialogue between the conflict parties and expressed regret over the fact that these clashes claim the lives of the military and civilian people.
The President of Belarus gave an instruction to discuss the situation in the zone of the Nagorny Karabakh conflict at the ministerial level. Belarus’ Defense Minister Andrei Ravkov has already had the corresponding talks with his Azerbaijani and Armenian colleagues.
The same issue is one the diplomatic agenda. Belarus’ Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei has already held consultations with Azerbaijan Minister of Foreign Affairs
Elmar Mammadyarov. In the near future he will have the negotiations with Armenia Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian.It was reported earlier that the sides accuse each other of launching attacks. There have not been such escalations of the conflict since 1994.
The Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan says that many soldiers have been killed and military equipment has been destroyed in the zone of the conflict, control over a number of strategic heights and populated areas in Nagorny Karabakh has been established. The prime minister of Armenia, in turn, said that the Armenian forces keep the situation under control. It has been reported that a number of civilian people are injured or killed.
The situation in the zone of the Nagorny Karabakh conflict will be discussed by co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group Igor Popov (Russia), James Warlick (the USA), and Pierre Andrieu (France). In the joint statement they criticized the use of force in Nagorny Karabakh and called for ceasefire.
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