Russia says Azerbaijan initiated recent escalation in Karabakh

PanARMENIAN.Net - Azerbaijan initiated the recent escalation along the contact line with Nagorno Karabakh, a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said on Thursday, May 18.

“According to information from various sources, on May 15 afternoon the Azerbaijani side shelled a military objective on the other side of the contact line. Accordingly, the other side responded,” Maria Zakharova said.

“We have contradictory data on the type of the facility, the extent of its damage, and the question of casualties among personnel.”

She stressed that as a mediator in the settlement process, Russia condemns ceasefire violations and calls on the parties to take all necessary measures to prevent further escalation in the conflict zone.

Also Thursday, the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group cited "information collected from multiple reliable sources" which proved that Azerbaijan initiated the latest escalation on the contact line.