Ceasefire verification mechanism is key, Armenia tells Russia

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan has stressed the establishment of stable ceasefire verification mechanisms as a priority.

At a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, Mnatsakanyan reaffirmed Armenia's commitments to the Moscow joint statement of October 10 and the statement of October 17 on the ceasefire.

The meeting came after Russian President Vladimir Putin's telephone conversations with Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders and Russian-mediated efforts to end the military actions in the Karabakh conflict zone.

Highly appreciating Russian and personally President Putin’s efforts to reach a ceasefire, Mnatsakanyan stated that all the agreements remain on paper due to Azerbaijan’s treacherous behavior and destabilizing actions.

Azerbaijan, with help from Turkey and Syrian and Libyan mercenaries deployed by Ankara, started a war against Karabakh (Artsakh) in the morning of September 27. The Armenian side has reported deaths and injuries both among the civilian population and the military. Foreign and local journalists too have been injured in Azeri shelling of towns and villages.