YEREVAN (Sputnik) – Nagorno-Karabakh is a mountainous area in Azerbaijan that is populated by Armenians and currently controlled by the Armenian government.
A new spate of violence broke out in the disputed region earlier in the day as the sides traded accusations over violations of the ceasefire that has been in place since May 1994. Both Azerbaijan and Armenia reported casualties in the flare-up.
"Ignoring the international recognition of the Nagorno-Karabakh republic leads to actions triggered by Azerbaijan. Failure to contain the aggressor will result in new escalation with unpredictable consequences for the region, the responsibility for which will bear not only official Baku, but also the powers that support it," the parliament said in a statement.
Earlier in the day, republic’s Prime Minister Arayik Harutyunyan announced that if it was necessary, everyone would go to protect the state’s border.
The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988, when the Armenian-dominated autonomous region sought to secede from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. It proclaimed independence after the Soviet collapse in 1991. In September 2015, the conflict escalated, with the sides blaming each other for violating the truce.
