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Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Armenian leader calls for extending mandate of OSCE envoy for Karabakh

The president stressed "the importance of extending the mandate" and powers of OSCE envoy Andrzej Kasprzyk at the talks with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan AP Photo/Markus Schreiber

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan

© AP Photo/Markus Schreiber

BERLIN, April 6. /TASS/. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on Wednesday spoke in favor of extending the mandate of the OSCE mission on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution.

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

The president stressed "the importance of extending the mandate" and powers of OSCE envoy Andrzej Kasprzyk at the talks with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a member of the Armenian delegation told TASS.

The situation along the line of contact in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone deteriorated dramatically overnight to April 2 when fierce clashes began. The parties to the conflict accused each other of violating the truce.

The Armenian and Azerbaijani defense ministries announced cessation of combat operations in Nagorno-Karabakh from 11:00 a.m. (0800GMT) Moscow time on April 5.

The conflict between neighboring Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that had been part of Azerbaijan before the Soviet Union break-up but was mainly populated by Armenians, broke out in the late 1980s.

In 1991-1994, the confrontation spilled over into large-scale military action for control over the enclave and some adjacent territories. Thousands left their homes on both sides in a conflict that killed 30,000. An unofficial ceasefire was reached on May 12, 1994. Since then, Armenia and Azerbaijan have been holding negotiations mediated by the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) Minsk Group on the region's disputed status.

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Nagorno-Karabakh

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