Russian, French and US co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group pleaded with Armenia and Azerbaijan on Wednesday to refrain from statements that could escalate border clashes
VIENNA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th July, 2020) Russian, French and US co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group pleaded with Armenia and Azerbaijan on Wednesday to refrain from statements that could escalate border clashes.
"The Co-Chairs urge the sides to refrain from inflammatory rhetoric and attempts to change the situation on the ground," the statement read.
They described the current situation on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border as "relatively calm" and emphasized the need for a climate that would be "conducive" to the peace process.
The two ex-Soviet neighbors have been locked in a conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region for decades, but the recent skirmishes erupted on the northern stretch of their shared border.
At least 16 people, including an Azerbaijani general, have been killed on both sides in three days of fighting. The rivals have blamed each other for opening artillery fire on military positions in what they both referred to as a provocation.
