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Yerevan ready to discuss prospects of assisting Nagorno-Karabakh — Armenian PM

Abramyan and other Armenian ministers arrived in the non-recognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh to take part in the celebrations of the 71st anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War

YEREVAN, May 8. /TASS/. Armenia’s government is ready to discuss prospects of assistance to the authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenian Prime Minister Ovik Abramyan, who has arrived on a visit to Stepanakert, said on Sunday.

Abramyan and a number of other Armenian ministers arrived in the non-recognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh to take part in the celebrations of the 71st anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

"Armenia’s executive authorities are ready to swiftly react to development programs for Nagorno-Karabakh," he said, adding that the situation in the region forces Armenian "to take non-standard solutions in the interests of ensuring security and strengthening Armenia and Nagorn-Karabakh."

The situation along the line of engagement of the conflicting parties in Nagorno-Karabakh deteriorated dramatically overnight to April 2. Following fierce armed clashes at the contact line, the parties to the conflict accused each other of violating truce.

On April 5, Russia mediated a meeting between Colonel-General Nadzhmeddin Sadykov, the chief of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces General Staff, and Colonel-General Yuri Khachaturov, the chief of the Armenian Armed Forces General Staff, that took place in Moscow. The sides agreed to cease the hostilities on the line disengaging the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops in Nagorno-Karabakh. The defense ministries of Azerbaijan and Armenia announced a ceasefire on the contact line as of 12:00 (11:00 Moscow time) the same day. Ever since, the parties occasionally report brief exchanges of fire at the contact line.

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. A truce was called between Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh republic on one side and Azerbaijan on the other in May 1994.