Following last night's escalation of violence along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, which has reportedly already resulted in numerous casualties and significant damage, the Irish Foreign Minister and Chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Simon Coveney, and the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Tini Cox, have issued a statement.

The statement said that the use of military force is totally unacceptable in the settlement of disputes between Council of Europe member states.

They call on Azerbaijan and Armenia to abandon any further steps that may worsen the situation, respect international agreements and, without further delay, to launch peace negotiations.