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OSCE PA speaker calls on Yerevan, Baku to resume Minsk Group-mediated talks

The sides must take all necessary measures to stabilize the situation on the ground, George Tsereteli said

STOCKHOLM, September 27. /TASS/. Speaker of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) George Tsereteli has called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs-mediated talks to ease tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh.

"I call on both sides to cease hostilities in the interests of civilians who live in the area and recommit to negotiations under the auspices of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group in pursuit of long-term resolution of the conflict," the OSCE PA quoted Tsereteli as saying. "I am deeply concerned by this most recent escalation, particularly by reports of civilian deaths and the threat that it poses to regional security. As stated today by the Co-Chairs, the sides must take all necessary measures to stabilize the situation on the ground. There is no alternative to a political solution."

OSCE PA Secretary General Roberto Montella, in turn, stressed that the Parliamentary Assembly will continue to offer a forum for dialogue between Azerbaijani and Armenian parliamentarians. "The OSCE PA is ready to host parliamentary talks between the parties if requested by both sides," Montella said. "While the Minsk Group is the OSCE platform where this dispute ultimately needs to be settled, the Assembly can complement these efforts by helping to build confidence between the sides."

The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh escalated on September 27, when Azerbaijan said its positions had come under extensive fire from Armenia. Armenia, in turn, said the Azerbaijani army had staged ab offensive in the direction of Nagorno-Karabakh. It said a number of settlements in Nagorno-Karabakh, including its administrative center Stepanakert, had come under shelling by Azerbaijan. Both sides report casualties, including among civilians. Armenia’s authorities have imposed martial law and announced mobilization of reservists. Azerbaijan also imposed martial law on the entire territory of the country.

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the highland region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that had been part of Azerbaijan before the Soviet Union break-up, but primarily populated by ethnic Armenians, broke out in February 1988 after the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1992-1994, tensions boiled over and exploded into large-scale military action for control over the enclave and seven adjacent territories after Azerbaijan lost control of them. Talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement have been ongoing since 1992 under the OSCE Minsk Group, led by its three co-chairs - Russia, France and the United States.