Armenia accuses Azerbaijan of all-out 'war'
Armenia accuses Azerbaijan of all-out 'war'
Defence ministry says ceasefire doesn't exist as hostilities over disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region escalate.
22 Dec 2015 17:25 GMT | War & Conflict, Europe, Azerbaijan, Armenia
Armenia accuses Azerbaijan of all-out 'war'
Defence ministry says ceasefire doesn't exist as hostilities over disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region escalate.
22 Dec 2015 17:25 GMT | War & Conflict, Europe, Azerbaijan, Armenia
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- RELATED: Tensions reignite in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
Ethnic Armenian separatists backed by Yerevan seized control of the mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh region - part of Azerbaijan during the Soviet period - during a war the early 1990s that claimed the lives of about 30,000 people.
A 1994 ceasefire failed to lead to a peace deal, with clashes erupting regularly and the two countries remaining on a war footing.
Energy-rich Azerbaijan, whose military spending exceeds Armenia's entire state budget, has repeatedly threatened to take back the breakaway region by force if negotiations fail to yield results.
Moscow-backed Armenia says it could crush any offensive.
Earlier this month, Azerbaijani tanks shelled positions in the Nagorno-Karabakh region for the first time in more than 20 years, the rebel defence ministry said.
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mediators recently warned "the status quo has become unsustainable".
Talks in Switzerland at the weekend between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia - Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sarkisian, respectively - over the future of the disputed region appeared to have brought no tangible results.
