Azerbaijan’s President Accuses Armenia of Not Fulfilling Obligations

BAKU (Sputnik) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has held phone talks with President of the European Council Charles Michel and has accused Armenia of not fulfilling its obligations under the Moscow-brokered agreement, according to Aliyev’s press service.

Michel said on social media on Friday that he had separate calls with Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

In a statement released after the talks, Aliyev’s press service said that "the head of state noted that for almost two years Armenia has not fulfilled the obligations that it assumed according to the statement of November 10 [2020]," and that "Armenia did not withdraw troops stationed in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan from our territories," with "illegal Armenian military formations" currently present in the territories of Azerbaijan.

Earlier on Friday, the US State Department said that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone with Pashinyan and Aliyev and urged "direct dialogue" to resolve issues resulting from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Azerbaijan launched an offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh on Wednesday, citing Armenian provocations as a reason for the move and seized several strategic heights. Armenia reported multiple casualties as a result of drone strikes conducted by the Azerbaijani military.

Russian peacekeepers on the ground accused Azerbaijan of violating the existing ceasefire regime.

The long-standing conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh flared up in September 2020, marking the most serious escalation of a protracted standoff in years. The hostilities ended with a Moscow-brokered trilateral declaration signed in November 2020. Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to completely cease fire and exchange prisoners. The Kalbajar, Lachin, and part of the Agdam District were handed over to Azerbaijan. Russian peacekeepers have been stationed in the region since then to oversee the implementation of the truce.