YEREVAN (Sputnik) – The latest wave of violence in Azerbaijan's breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, mostly inhabited by Armenians, intensified on April 2, leading to multiple casualties before Armenia and Azerbaijan reached a shaky ceasefire deal three days later.
"What Azerbaijan allowed itself does not indicate the possibility of an early return to the negotiating table," Sahakyan told the Artsakh Public Television. He stressed that the talks should not be conducted without NKR participation as the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict cannot be resolved in such a format.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict began in 1988, when the autonomous region sought to secede from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. The region proclaimed independence when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. The move triggered a war that lasted until a Russia-brokered ceasefire was signed in 1994.
Azerbaijan insists on maintaining its territorial integrity, while Armenia is defending the interests of the self-proclaimed NKR, which has not been part of the peace talks conducted since 1992.
