Belarus envoy summoned to Armenia Foreign Ministry over Artsakh remark

PanARMENIAN.Net - Ambassador of Belarus to Armenia Igor Nazaruk was summoned Sunday, April 3, to Foreign Ministry in Yerevan.

During the meeting, Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan expressed deep bewilderment over some provisions reflected in a Belarus Foreign Ministry statement on the developments in Nagorno Karabakh.

According to the Belarusian statements, the Karabakh conflict should be resolved under the "principle of territorial integrity and inviolability of borders and be based on relevant decisions of the UN Security Council and the OSCE."

Nazaruk was told, in particular, that such a statement is incompatible with the nature of Armenia-Belarus relations and contradicts the commitments of the sides within the CSTO and other international structures. It also undermines the negotiation process while encouraging the use of force in the Nagorno Karabakh settlement process, Armenia's Foreign Ministry said.

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, using artillery, armored fighting vehicles and air force equipment among other weapons.

As many as 18 Karabakh servicemen were killed and 35 were wounded in the course of military operations.

As of April 3, the Azerbaijani side has lost 14 tanks and over 5 armored vehicles, including an IFV, as well as 2 military helicopters and 2 unmanned aerial vehicles.

One Karabakh tank has been destroyed so far.