Germany reiterates its support for Azerbaijan's territorial integrity

/AzerNews/

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

Germany's Federal Government has reiterated its support for Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The website of the German Bundestag has posted a statement headlined "Skirmishes for Nagorno-Karabakh", which said the ceasefire violations during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict have escalated since early 2014. It states that Germany's Foreign Ministry has responded to a query sent to the Federal Government by Left-wing fraction.

The response of the Federal Government to the query once more confirmed Nagorno-Karabakh as an integral part of Azerbaijan under the international law, saying the territory is under control of the Armenian Armed Forces now.

The letter of response stated that the clashes on the contact line of the Azerbaijani and Armenian Armed Forces came to a boil in late July and early August, as the snipers, submachine guns, as well as other infantry weapons were involved in the firefights. The tense situation on the contact line de-escalated following several days of intense fighting.

The Federal Government claimed that the “self-defense forces” of the so-called “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic” have 23,000 soldiers with 8,000 servicemen from the Armenia Armed Forces.

The European Court of Human Rights has recently demanded the Armenian government to explain the illegal service of Armenian soldiers in the territory of so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic".

The concern emerged following the death of a soldier, Suren Murdayan, in the so-called "NKR army" in 2001. Father of the deceased soldier and his lawyer claimed that Muradyan served in the so-called army based on a non-existent document.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.