Sputnik News Service



Baku Confirms Agreement With Yerevan to Reduce Tensions in
Nagorno-Karabakh - Statement


BAKU, September 29 (Sputnik) - The administration of Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev has confirmed in a statement that the president
had agreed with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to de-escalate
tensions on the contact line in Azerbaijan's breakaway region of
Nagorno-Karabakh and the state border between the two countries.

On Friday, Pashinyan said that he had had a conversation with the
Azerbaijani president, during which the two politicians agreed to
instruct the two countries' defense ministers "to take concrete steps
in order to reduce tensions on the contact line and the state border."

"President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Armenian
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a conversation on the sidelines of
the CIS Summit in Dushanbe. The parties affirmed their commitment to
the process of negotiations on the settlement of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the strengthening of
the ceasefire regime for preventing incidents on the line of contact
and Armenia-Azerbaijan border," the Azerbaijani president's press
service said in a statement.

According to the Azerbaijani presidential administration, Aliyev and
Pashinyan agreed to set up a mechanism that would ensure prompt
contacts between the relevant authorities in this regard.

 The conflict in Armenian-dominated Nagorno-Karabakh started in 1988
with the autonomous region announcing its secession from the
Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1991, the Armenia-backed
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.

In 1994, the warring sides agreed to a cessation of hostilities.
However, the violence escalated again in 2016, leading to multiple
casualties on both sides despite the ceasefire.