Nagorno-Karabakh settlement intermediaries urge conflicting sides to stop escalating tensions
YEREVAN. May 19 (Interfax) - The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group promoting a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict have urged Armenia and Azerbaijan not to escalate tensions any further.
"According to information collected from multiple reliable sources, on 15 May, Azerbaijani armed forces fired a missile across the Line of Contact, striking military equipment. On the evening of 16 May and continuing into 17 May, Armenian armed forces retaliated with mortar fire of various calibers. These actions by both sides represent significant violations of the ceasefire and are cause for alarm," the intermediaries said in a statement published on the OSCE website on Thursday evening.
"There are contradictory reports regarding the targets of these recent strikes, as well as about casualties sustained and damages inflicted," the statement said.
"The Minsk Group Co-Chairs and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office continue to collect further data and analysis to gain more complete and accurate information about the current situation. The Co-Chairs condemn these recent ceasefire violations and call upon the sides to take all necessary measures to prevent any further escalation in the conflict zone," the statement said.
