All news

Kremlin voices concern as fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh continues

The Kremlin spokesman noted that there was no lasting ceasefire in the region
Destroyed house in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh AP Photo
Destroyed house in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh
© AP Photo

MOSCOW, October 28. /TASS/. The Kremlin expresses regret and concerns as fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh continues despite the earlier reached ceasefire agreements.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that there was no lasting ceasefire in the region.

"Battles still continue and this arouses regret and concerns," Peskov said.

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. Both parties to the conflict have reported casualties, among them civilians. Three ceasefire agreements had been earlier reached, but shortly after the sides reported about violations.

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the highland region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that had been part of Azerbaijan before the Soviet Union break-up, but primarily populated by ethnic Armenians, broke out in February 1988 after the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1992-1994, tensions boiled over and exploded into large-scale military action for control over the enclave and seven adjacent territories after Azerbaijan lost control of them. Talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement have been ongoing since 1992 under the OSCE Minsk Group, led by its three co-chairs - Russia, France and the United States.