Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday that international calls for a ceasefire between Azeri and Armenian forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh region were reasonable, but world powers should also urge Armenia to withdraw from Azeri lands.
Speaking at a news conference with his Swedish counterpart Ann Linde in Ankara, Cavusoglu said holding a meeting with all 11 members of the Minsk group – formed to mediate the conflict and led by Russia, the United States and France – would benefit talks on the issue.
He added that he made this offer to Linde since Sweden will take up the term presidency of the Organisation for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE), under which the Minsk group sits.
Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other on Tuesday of violating a humanitarian ceasefire agreed three days ago to quell fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, drawing warnings from international groups of a humanitarian crisis in the region.
A Reuters cameraman witnessed shelling in the town of Martuni in Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountain enclave which is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but governed and populated by ethnic Armenians.
A Reuters television crew in Terter in Azerbaijan also said the city centre was being shelled earlier on Tuesday.
The Russian-brokered ceasefire, aimed at allowing the sides to swap prisoners and bodies of those killed, is buckling, dimming peace prospects after deadly clashes broke out on Sept. 27..
Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said Armenian forces were shelling the Azeri territories of Goranboy and Aghdam, as well as Terter, and “grossly violating the humanitarian truce”.
“Azeri armed forces are not violating the humanitarian ceasefire,” defence ministry spokesman Vagif Dargiahly said.
Armenian defence ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan denied the accusation. She said Azeri forces had resumed military operations after an overnight lull, “supported by active artillery fire in the southern, northern, northeastern and eastern directions”.
The flare-up of fighting is the worst since a 1991-94 war over Nagorno-Karabakh that killed about 30,000.
REUTERS