Armenia-Artsakh mutual assistance deal being finalized: Deputy FM

PanARMENIAN.Net - The agreement on mutual assistance in military sector between Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh is currently in the stage of coordination, Armenia's Deputy Foreign Minister said Wednesday, April 6.

“It is necessary to finalize the text, coordinate and sign it; only afterwards can we talk about ratification,” Tert.am cited Shavarsh Kocharyan as saying.

The diplomat, however, noted that the Nagorno Karabakh recognition process is not on Armenia’s agenda.

The agreement mentions, meanwhile, that “our relations with Nagorno Karabakh are based on legal equality,” Kocharyan said.

The parties to the Karabakh conflict agreed on a bilateral ceasefire along the contact line which came into force at midday, April 5.

Prior to that, on the night of April 1-2, Azerbaijani armed forces initiated overt offensive operations in the southern, southeastern and northeastern directions of the line of contact with Nagorno Karabakh.

As many as 29 Karabakh servicemen were killed and 101 were wounded in the course of military operations. 28 Karabakh soldiers have gone missing so far.

As of April 5, the Azerbaijani side has lost 26 tanks and 4 infantry fighting vehicles, as well as 1 BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher, 2 military helicopters and 11 unmanned aerial vehicles.

14 Karabakh tanks have been neutralized since April 2.