YEREVAN, March 14 (RIA Novosti) - The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will on Thursday check the way a ceasefire is being observed on the contact line between the armed forces of Azerbaijan and Armenia, the Foreign Ministry of the unrecognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh said.

The ministry said in a statement that the inspection will particularly take place near the village of Talish in the Martakertsky district of the republic.

“The authorities of the Nagorno-Karabakh have expressed their readiness to cooperate during the inspection and provide security of the OSCE observers,” the statement said.

The predominantly Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh claimed independence from Azerbaijan in the late 1980s, triggering a bloody conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan which left more than 30,000 people dead on both sides between 1988 and 1994. The region has since remained under Armenian control.

There have been an increasing number of shootouts along the line of contact between the Armenian and Azerbaijani forces, as well as at the border between the two states.

The OSCE Minsk Group, comprising the United States, Russia and France, mediates the conflict.