Azerbaijani Defense Minister Visits Military Units in Karabakh

Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov visited Tuesday the military units alongside the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh, the ministry’s press service said.

BAKU (Sputnik) — The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988, when the autonomous region sought to secede from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, before proclaiming independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The warring sides agreed to a cessation of hostilities in 1994.

Earlier the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said that the visit to Agdam and Terter regions on the contact line in Karabakh had been arranged for diplomats and military attaches accredited in Azerbaijan.

The violence in Nagorno-Karabakh escalated on April 2. Baku and Yerevan have accused each other of provoking hostilities that led to multiple deaths on each side.

"Zakir Hasanov reviewed the combat readiness of the military units stationed along the line of contact, as well as soldiers’ psychological readiness. The minister also visited the recently liberated positions on the line of contact," the press service said.