text: Levon Zourabian, ALDE, Armenia, Free DebateDear Assembly,On 2 April Azerbaijan launched a large scale military operation over entire line of the contact in Nagorno-Karabakh, causing first serious outbreak of war after the ceasefire, signed by defense ministers of Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan in 1994 and largely held since then.The 4-day-long war has taken a serious toll on human life on both sides of the line of the conflict and enormously endangered the security in the region.By seeking a military solution to the conflict, Azerbaijan has once again demonstrated its utter disrespect to the right of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh - the very people they consider as citizen of Azerbaijan - to live in security and freely exercise their right to choose their own fate. This is exactly why this conflict started in the first place.When Nagorno-Karabakh opted in favor of independence from Azerbaijan through legal means, including the 1988 decision of its parliament and the 1991 referendum for independence, what followed was Azerbaijan's efforts to suppress the self-determination through ethnic pogroms and cleansing and military actions. In 1991 Azerbaijan, in cooperation with Soviet troops, uprooted the Armenian population of 24 villages in Nagorno-Karabakh, in 1992 its disproportionate bombardment of Stepanakert took more than one thousand lives. It is in response to such actions that the self-defense forces of Nagorno-Karabakh created the security zone around it.The current peace plan proposed by the Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group envisages the recognition of the self-determination right of Nagorno-Karabakh people to be expressed in the internationally recognized referendum on its final status and provision of international security guarantees interconnected with the return of the security zone. Azerbaijan, however, refuses to negotiate in good faith, rejects direct negotiations with Nagorno-Karabakh and refuses to accept ceasefire strengthening measures such as removing snipers and enhancing the monitoring mission. For a decade it was busy with military buildup, the only purpose of which is to exterminate Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh rather than reach reconciliation with them. The international community should ensure that Azerbaijan respects one of the most fundamental principles of international order - refraining from threat or use of force for resolution of conflicts.