VIENNA, October 10. /TASS/: OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama has welcomed Russia’s role in convening the talks between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in Moscow, which resulted in ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said in a press statement on Saturday.
The statement says that the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office emphasized the significance of a humanitarian pause to exchange prisoners of war, detainees, and the bodies of those killed in fighting.
"This development came in response to the appeal by Russian President Putin and in accordance with the agreement of Azerbaijani President Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan," the statement reads. "Rama welcomed Russia’s role in convening the talks, which were held together with the presence of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and the Personal Representative of the [OSCE] Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk.
Rama pointed out that the OSCE Minsk Group’s co-Chairs and his personal representative "remain fully engaged with the sides, and are ready to ensure every effort is focused on achieving a peaceful negotiated solution of the conflict."
At the talks in Moscow brokered by Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed a ceasefire which came into effect at 12.00 local time on Saturday, October 10 for humanitarian reasons, for the exchange of detainees and recovery of the bodies of those killed in fighting.
Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The area experienced flare-ups of violence in the summer of 2014, in April 2016 and this past July. Azerbaijan and Armenia have imposed martial law and launched mobilization efforts. Both parties to the conflict have reported casualties, among them civilians.
