Putin holds phone talks with Armenian, Azerbaijani Presidents

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian President Vladimir Putin urged his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to ensure a complete ceasefire over the Nagorno Karabakh region, a Kremlin statement said on Tuesday, April 5.

According to the report, Putin made the appeal in phone calls with Aliyev and Sargsyan.

"Russia is and will be taking necessary mediation steps to promote the normalization of the situation," the statement said.

Putin also stressed the importance of resuming the negotiation process between Yerevan and Baku, under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group, to further work for a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

The parties to the Nagorno 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 20 Karabakh servicemen were killed and 72 were wounded in the course of military operations. In addition, 4 civilians and 5 volunteers have been killed.

26 Karabakh soldiers have gone missing so far.

As of April 5, the Azerbaijani side has lost 29 tanks and over 5 armored vehicles, including an IFV, as well as 1 TOS-1A Solntsepyok multiple rocket launcher, 1 BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher, 2 military helicopters and 7 unmanned aerial vehicles.

Seven Karabakh tanks have been neutralized since April 2.

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