All entities, including the external parties must refrain from any action that may lead to continuation of hostilities and more victims. This includes an end to the dangerous, provocative and xenophobic rhetoric. This is what EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said during a meeting with President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian.

The parties discussed the situation in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. Borrell stated that the European Union continues to call for immediate cessation of hostilities and strict observance of the agreed ceasefire regime and added that all actions targeted against civilians and causing further suffering for the peaceful population must be immediately stopped. Borrell also stressed that the parties to the conflict must completely observe the norms of international humanitarian law. He also called on the parties to return to the negotiations over a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict under the auspices of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, without preconditions and without hesitating.

Borrell reaffirmed the European Union’s support to the ongoing efforts of the Co-Chairs through active and high-level contacts and the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus.