EU delegation head: EU concerned about increased tension on Armenian-Azerbaijani contact line

Azerbaijan, Baku, June 8 / Trend, E.Mehdiyev / The European Union is concerned about the increased tension on the line of contact between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops, head of the EU office in Baku Roland Kobia told journalists on Friday. "The European Union is concerned about the increased tension on the line of contact, about the casualties and anything we can is to try to encourage people to go to the negotiating table rather than using military power in order to shoot at each other," he said. According to Kobia, the EU is proposing to try to put up confidence building measures between peoples to try to move to the peaceful settlement. "What I want to say is to bring my condolences to the families and relatives of the people who died and the people of Azerbaijan. I know that this is sad for the whole country," he added. Recently, the ceasefire has intensively been violated on the front line. At 06:30 on June 5 Armenian sabotage group's efforts to enter Azerbaijani Armed Forces' positions in Ashagi Eskipara village in the Gazakh region failed and it retreated by suffering losses. As a result of the fight, 4 soldiers of Azerbaijani Armed Forces were killed. Another Azerbaijani soldier was killed as a result of fire opened from nameless heights in Gazakh region. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France and the U.S. - are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az