Pakistan hails cessation of hostilities in Nagorno Karabagh region

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday hailed the recent announcement of cessation of hostilities by the relevant parties, Azerbaijan and Armenia, in the Nagorno Karabagh dispute, ARY NEWS reported quoting the Foreign Office spokesman.   

According to the Foreign Office Spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, Pakistan has consistently supported the resolution of the Nagorno Karabagh dispute in accordance with international law and the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions.

“We welcome the recent announcement of cessation of hostilities by the relevant parties,” he said.

The spokesman said that the trilateral agreement facilitated by the Russian Federation offers a renewed opportunity for establishing peace in the South Caucasus region.

“We congratulate the government and brotherly people of Azerbaijan on the liberation of their territories,” he said adding that they hoped that this will lead to an era of stability and prosperity in the region and will pave way for the return of internally displaced persons to their ancestral lands.

It is pertinent to mention here that Azerbaijan said Sunday its forces had captured the key town of Shusha from Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The capture of Shusha was a major victory for Azerbaijan six weeks after new fighting erupted over Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave that broke away from Azerbaijan’s control in the 1990s.

The fortress town sits on cliffs around 15 kilometres (nine miles) from Nagorno-Karabakh’s largest city Stepanakert and on the main road through the region to the territory of Armenia, which backs the separatists.

Turkey is a key ally of Azerbaijan and on Sunday Erdogan congratulated Baku after its claim of retaking Shusha, saying it was “a sign that the liberation of the rest of the occupied territories is near”.