Representative Rep. Ed Royce, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on Thursday issued the following statement on the escalation of violence in the Nagorno-Karabakh region:

“Azerbaijan’s violation of the ceasefire agreement along the border with Nagorno-Karabakh is deeply disturbing. The resulting escalation of military activity along the line of contact has cost the lives of over a dozen Armenian and Azeri young men. A ceasefire is needed to protect further loss of life and escalation,” the statement presented by ANCA reads.

“The Obama Administration should act to encourage the restoration of a ceasefire, press Azerbaijan to withdraw snipers from the line of contact, and promote a peace plan that includes a date certain of a referendum for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to decide their own future.”