YEREVAN. – The OSCE Secretary General, Lamberto Zannier is concerned over recent incidents on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan and on the Line of Contact, he told reporters in Yerevan on Thursday.

Zannier said the OSCE fully supported the process facilitated by the Minsk Group Co-Chairs and the efforts of the OSCE Chairperson’s Personal Representative in negotiating a peaceful settlement of the conflict and voiced his concern at the developments on the Line of Contact and on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, especially the targeting of civilians living close to the front lines.

“There is a clear need to immediately implement measures that would stabilize the worrying situation and prevent the unacceptable further loss of lives,” he said after his meeting with Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan. “It is essential for both sides to abstain from retaliatory measures that would lead to further escalation and to remove snipers from the Line of Contact – this is the message I also delivered in Baku.”

Zannier stressed that promoting confidence-building measures, including people-to-people contacts, between the conflict sides, as agreed by the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Sochi, was a priority for the OSCE.