Monday, September 28 2020 20:23

ArmInfo. "We are extremely concerned by the outbreak of military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan and its escalation, which put regional stability at risk.   We deeply regret the losses of civilian and military lives reported  by both parties," said the PACE monitoring co-rapporteurs for  Armenia, Boriana Aberg (Sweden, EPP/CD) and Kimmo Kiljunen (Finland,  SOC), and those for Azerbaijan, Stefan Schennach (Austria, SOC) and  Sir Roger Gale (United Kingdom, EC/DA), in a joint statement.

As the press service of Organization reports, the statement, in  particular, reads: "We urge both parties to immediately cease armed  hostilities, to de-escalate the situation and to return to the  negotiating table in the Minsk Group format. In addition, we urge all  other Council of Europe member States to refrain from any actions or  discourse that could contribute to the tension and instability in  this volatile region. We reiterate that there is no alternative to a  peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," they added.

"As we did in our joint statement in July 2020, when clashes took  place along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, we underscore the  explicit obligation incumbent on member States of the Council of  Europe that they should resolve the conflicts between them by  peaceful means only," they said.

"The Assembly stands ready to contribute, at the parliamentary level,  to creating an environment conducive to peaceful negotiations within  the Minsk Group format," they concluded.Observers of the  Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) called on  Azerbaijan and Armenia to immediately cease hostilities and return to  dialogue. This is stated in the joint statement of the organization's  co-rapporteurs for Armenia, Boriana Oberg and Kimmo Kiljunen, and for  Azerbaijan, Stefan Schennach and Roger Gale, circulated on Monday.

"We are extremely concerned about the outbreak of hostilities between  Armenia and Azerbaijan and their escalation, which threaten regional  stability. We deeply regret the losses among the military and  civilians, which were announced by both sides, - the PACE  representatives note. "We call on both sides to immediately end  hostilities and return to the negotiating table in the format of the  Minsk Group." In addition, the co-rapporteurs called on the rest of  the Council of Europe countries "to refrain from any actions that  could contribute to the development of tension in this region." "We  reiterate that there is no alternative to a peaceful settlement of  the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," they said.

The Brazilian Foreign Ministry also made a statement: "The Brazilian  government is following with concern the development of the military  confrontation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which began on  September 27 on the Line of Contact in the conflict zone in  Nagorno-Karabakh. Brazil calls on the parties to immediately cease  hostilities, show respect for identity of each other and return to  negotiations on relevant issues," the statement says.  Brazil's  Foreign Ministry also expressed "deep sadness over the losses on both  sides." 

Spanish Foreign Minister Arancia Gonzalez also called for a ceasefire. She also called for the restoration of dialogue under the auspices of the OSCE