‘An immediate cessation of hostilities’: Putin, Macron & Trump issue joint statement demanding end to Nagorno-Karabakh violence
The Presidents of Russia, France, and the US have called for an immediate end to the escalation of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh. The leaders chair the OSCE Minsk Group, tasked with ending the Azerbaijan and Armenia conflict.
“We call for an immediate cessation of hostilities between the relevant military forces,” read the joint statement from Presidents Vladimir Putin, Emmanuel Macron, and Donald Trump.
“We also call on the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to commit without delay to resuming substantive negotiations, in good faith and without preconditions, under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.”
The OSCE Minsk Group was founded in 1992, with the goal of finding a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.
Earlier on Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that any demand for a ceasefire coming from the Minsk Group is unacceptable, attacking them for “years of ignorance.”
“Our brothers cannot return to their land. And if there are no results, it's time to act,” the Turkish president said.
The dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia is more than a century old, with both countries believing they have strong claims over Nagorno-Karabakh. The region is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but is populated by ethnic Armenians. Baku considers the enclave to be illegally occupied by Armenia. In the last few days, reports of both military and civilian casualties have reached double figures.
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