Karabakh Conflict to Be Resolved Only Through OSCE Minsk Group Mediation

YEREVAN (Sputnik) — On Wednesday, during the session of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the OSCE Minsk Group should ramp up its efforts on the conflict resolution. According to the foreign minister, the issue of withdrawal of Armenian troops from at least five "occupied territories of Azerbaijan" has been under consideration.

"I can say that the issue can be resolved only by mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group, none other states are involved and can impact the question. It will be resolved within the Minsk Group," Volynkin told journalists

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been engaged in a dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988, when the autonomous region left the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic and proclaimed independence after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. The secession triggered a war that lasted until a Russia-brokered ceasefire was signed in 1994.

The OSCE Minsk Group has been attempting to resolve the conflict since 1992. Azerbaijan insists on maintaining its territorial integrity, while Armenia defends the interests of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Violence erupted in Nagorno-Karabakh on April 2, and led to multiple casualties. The parties to the conflict signed a Russia-brokered ceasefire on April 5, but mutual accusations have not stopped so far.