Karabakh cease-fire “mainly due to the balance of forces” – separatist minister

Mediamax news agency
12 May 04

Yerevan, 12 May: The truce agreement in the zone of the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict entered into force 10 years ago on 12 May 1994.

On 5 May 1994, Armenian, Azerbaijani and Karabakhi parliaments’
heads signed a protocol under the auspices of the CIS Parliamentary
Assembly, which served as a base for establishing a truce in the
Karabakh conflict zone. On the basis of the signed protocol, the
Russian president’s special representative for Nagornyy Karabakh,
Vladimir Kazimirov, drew up a truce agreement which entered into
force on 12 May.

In the interview with Mediamax, foreign minister of the Nagornyy
Karabakh Republic (NKR) Ashot Gulyan called the meeting in Bishkek “a
remarkable stage in the history of the Karabakh conflict settlement.”

Ashot Gulyan highlighted the importance of the fact that for the
last ten years the truce has been maintained by the efforts of the
two sides, without the support of the international contingent.

“The cease-fire is maintained mainly due to the balance of forces
in the region, and day-by-day improvement of the NKR Defence Army’s
fighting efficiency, giving confidence that the peace in the region
will be maintained in the future as well,” the minister said.