EU Minister for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell today held three-way phone talks with Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Azerbaijan Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Jeyhan Bayramov to discuss the recent clashes that took place along the length of the Armenia-Azerbaijan state border.

As reported the EU’s press service, these phone talks were Borrell’s first talks with the two foreign ministers following private talks with each of the ministers on July 13.

Borrell expressed condolences to the families of the victims and wished the wounded a speedy recovery. He also called on the sides to stop the armed conflict and refrain from taking actions and using rhetoric that provokes tension, particularly from threatening to strike major infrastructures in the region.

The EU MInister for Foreign Affairs also called on the sides to reaffirm their commitment to the ceasefire and take immediate measures to prevent further escalation, adding that, in this context, Armenia and Azerbaijan need to use the mechanism for direct communication, that is, the format that has been established under the leadership of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office. He also emphasized the need to resume essential talks over pivotal provisions for settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict under the auspices of the Co-Chairs.

Borrell stressed his willingness to continue to cooperate with the two sides and assigned the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia to continue close contacts with the two sides and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.