MOSCOW, September 27. /TASS/: Moscow calls on the parties to the conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh zone to immediately cease fire and begin negotiations to stabilize the situation, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
"According to the available information, the situation in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has sharply deteriorated," the ministry said. "We call on the parties to immediately cease fire and begin negotiations in order to stabilize the situation," the Russian diplomatic service stressed.
On Sunday morning, Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan said that Armenia began intensive shelling on the positions of the Azerbaijani army and settlements, with reported casualties and wounded among the civilian population. In turn, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that the Azerbaijani armed forces launched an offensive in the direction of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The conflict between Baku and Yerevan began in February 1988, when the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its secession from the Azerbaijan SSR. During the conflict of 1992-1994, Azerbaijan lost control over Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. Since 1992, negotiations have been held on a peaceful settlement of the conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group, chaired by Russia, the United States, and France.
