Armenia Backs Resolving Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Within OSCE Format - PM

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Armenia supports resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through the format offered by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during a speech in front of the UN General Assembly (UNGA).

"Armenia will continue its constructive engagement in the peaceful resolution of the conflict within the format of the OSCE Minsk Group… which has the only internationally recognized mandate to deal with the conflict," Pashinyan told the UNGA in New York on Tuesday.

Azerbaijan, Pashinyan added, must change its behavior of disrespect towards the negotiations and abandon the idea of any military solution.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Sputnik earlier this week that the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers will discuss the settlement of the conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region on September 26 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Azerbaijan's Armenian-dominated region of Nagorno-Karabakh proclaimed its independence in 1991, triggering a military conflict that led to Baku's loss of control over the region. The violence between Azerbaijani and Nagorno-Karabakh forces escalated on April 2, 2016, leading to multiple casualties. The sides agreed to a ceasefire on April 5, but sporadic clashes have continued.