Latvian minister urges Armenia and Azerbaijan to cease hostilities

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can be resolved using only peaceful methods and universally accepted principles of in international law and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, says Latvia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs.

In a telephone conversation with his Armenian colleague Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Azerbaijan colleague Ceyhun Bayramov, Edgars Rinkēvičs expressed worry about the situation in the region and urged both sides to immediately cease hostilities and instead commence a diplomatic dialogue.

To prevent a possible escalation of the conflict in the region, it is necessary to hold high-level talks between Armenian and Azerbaijan officials with involvement from OSCE Minsk Group, notes Latvia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry.

The Armenian armed forces committed a large-scale provocation, subjecting the positions of the Azerbaijani army to intensive shelling from large-caliber weapons, mortars, and artillery installations of various calibers in the front-line zone on Sept. 27 at 05:00 (Msk). The command of the Azerbaijani Army decided to launch a counter-offensive operation of Azerbaijani troops along the entire front to suppress the combat activity of the Armenian armed forces and ensure the safety of the civilian population. Seven villages of Fizuli and Jabrayil districts, key heights near Talysh, as well as Murovdag were liberated.