Armenia’s defense ministry says situation in Nagorno-Karabakh calm

ITAR-TASS, Russia
 Saturday 6:08 PM GMT


Armenia’s defense ministry says situation in Nagorno-Karabakh calm

YEREVAN September 16

The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh has remained relatively calm over
the past week, Armenia’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday, referring
to information from Nagorno-Karabakh’s Army of Defense.

YEREVAN, September 16. /TASS/. The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh has
remained relatively calm over the past week, Armenia’s Defense
Ministry said on Saturday, referring to information from
Nagorno-Karabakh’s Army of Defense.

"On September 10-16, the tactical situation along the line disengaging
the rival Armed Forces of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan has remained
relatively quiet," the statement said.

Over the past week, "the adversary violated the ceasefire mainly with
small arms of various calibers, conducting over 1,500 shots in the
direction of Karabakh positions," it said.

"Leading elements of the Army of Defense retain full control at the
frontline and stay vigilant carrying on combat duty," the Armenian
defense ministry said.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

The highland region of Nagorno-Karabakh (Mountainous Karabakh) is a
mostly Armenian-populated enclave inside the sovereign territory of
Azerbaijan. It was the first zone of inter-ethnic tensions and
violence to appear on the map of the former USSR.

Even almost a quarter of a century after the breakup of the Soviet
Union, Karabakh remains a so-called 'frozen conflict' on the
post-Soviet space, as the region is the subject of a dispute between
Azerbaijan and the local Armenian population that draws on strong
support from fellow-countrymen in neighboring Armenia.

In 1988, hostilities broke out there between the forces reporting to
the government in Baku and Armenian residents, which resulted in the
region's de facto independence. In 1994, a ceasefire was reached but
the relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia remain strained ever
since then.

Russia, France and the U.S. co-chair the Minsk Group of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which attempts to
broker an end to hostilities and the conflict.