Senator Kirk urges Obama to hold Aliyev fully accountable for Karabakh violence

U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) today released a statement in response to Azerbaijan’s launch of military operations against Nagorno Karabakh:

“It is unacceptable and reckless for Azerbaijan to blatantly violate its ceasefire agreement with Armenia and the Nagorno Karabakh Republic with a series of deliberate, offensive attacks last weekend. Baku’s warmongering has led to numerous Armenian deaths, both civilian and military, as well as significant Azerbaijani causalities. I strongly condemn Azerbaijan for instigating this violence against the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, and urge Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to stop his aggressive military onslaught.

“In addition, I call on President Obama and the State Department to hold President Aliyev fully accountable for this violence, and to support the implementation of the pro-peace steps laid out by Reps. Royce and Engel that include an agreement from all sides not to deploy snipers along the Nagorno Karabakh line of contact, the placement of OSCE-monitored, advanced gunfire-location systems and sound-ranging equipment to determine the source of attacks along the line of contact, and the deployment of additional OSCE observers along the line of contact to better monitor cease-fire violations.”