Heavy blows inflicted on Armenia during military operations - Azerbaijani president's assistant

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct. 10 Trend: Heavy blows were inflicted on Armenian army during the military operations, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev said. Hajiyev made the statement during a briefing held on Oct.10, Trend reports. According to him, with these operations Azerbaijan changed the status quo. "Azerbaijan has already freed many occupied territories, and the line of contact exists no more. In accordance with international appeals, the ceasefire has been restored, but Armenia, having abused this situation, continues provocations against Azerbaijan," he said. Foreign Ministers of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia adopted a joint document following consultations in Moscow. The text of the document said that in response to the appeal of Russian President Vladimir Putin and in accordance with the agreements of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the parties agreed on the following steps: "1. A ceasefire is declared from 12:00 on October 10, 2020 for humanitarian purposes for the exchange of prisoners of war and other detained persons and bodies of the dead, mediated and in accordance with the criteria of the International Committee of the Red Cross. 2. The specific parameters of the ceasefire regime will be agreed upon additionally. 3. The Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, with the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, on the basis of the basic principles of settlement, are starting substantive negotiations with the aim of reaching a peaceful settlement as soon as possible. 4. The parties confirm the invariability of the format of the negotiation process". The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.