Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland is dismayed and deeply concerned by the escalation of hostilities at the contact line in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, he said in a statement.

“The Council of Europe urges both sides to stop this totally unnecessary bloodshed which leads nowhere except to further violence and loss of lives including of many civilians. I urge the parties to protect the right to life as guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and return to the ceasefire and resume peaceful negotiations. This is a humanitarian imperative,” the statement reads.