YEREVAN (Sputnik) – The warring sides agreed to a cessation of hostilities in 1994. The violence escalated again in 2016, leading to multiple casualties, and the sides soon reached a ceasefire but the clashes in the region continued.

"We are ready to take responsibility for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. You know that Germany is a member of the OSCE Minsk group, and we said that it would be good to resolve the conflict, but it is important to solve the problems in a good atmosphere," Merkel said at a joint press conference with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Merkel added that the conflict could be resolved peacefully through negotiations.

The conflict in Armenian-dominated Nagorno-Karabakh started in 1988 with the autonomous region announcing its secession from the Azerbaijan Socialist republic. In 1991, the region proclaimed independence from Azerbaijan and the creation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. This move triggered a military conflict, which led to Baku losing control over the region.