US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has expressed hope for an immediate ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, echoing statements from Russia and France, which are part of the OSCE Minsk Group.
Military clashes began in Nagorno-Karabakh on 27 September, when Baku and Yerevan accused each other of attacking troops and civilian objects in the area. The heads of Russia, the US, and France urged the sides to resume talks without preconditions, while Ankara pledged to support Azerbaijan "both in talks and in combat".
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted in the late 1980s, and in 1991 the predominantly Armenian-populated autonomy proclaimed its independence from Azerbaijan and announced plans to join Armenia. As a result, Baku and Yerevan waged a full-scale war for the area between 1992 and 1994 that left 40,000 troops and civilians from both sides dead.
A ceasefire mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group was signed in 1994, but the conflict remained frozen, and the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic still continues to be an unrecognised state.
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