Washington: US President Donald Trump said that it was disappointing to see the collapse of the US-brokered ceasefire reached between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
“It’s disappointing to see that, but that’s what happens when you have countries that have been going at it for a long time,” Trump told reporters when asked about the collapse of the newly reached ceasefire between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Xinhua news agency reported.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held separate phone conversations with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, according to a statement issued by the State Department earlier in the day.
Shortly after the new truce came into effect on Oct 26, the two sides broke the ceasefire and traded accusations and attacks with each other.
The defense ministry of Azerbaijan said in a statement that the Armenian side had shelled several regions including Tovuz and Gadabay in Azerbaijan.
Meanwhile, Armenia’s defense ministry spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan accused Azerbaijani troops of opening artillery fire at the northeastern part of the Nagorno-Karabakh region soon after the ceasefire took effect.
Both sides denied accusations from the other party.
The oct 26 ceasefire agreement was the third within weeks. The two other agreements were reached on October 10 and October 17, but both sides blamed each other for not observing them.
A new round of armed conflict broke out on September 27 along the contact line of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at loggerheads over the mountainous region since 1988. Peace talks have been held since 1994 when a ceasefire was reached, but sporadic clashes have been taking place.
