OSCE urges Armenia, Azerbaijan to cease hostilities along border

By Burak Dag

ANKARA (AA) - The Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) urged an "immediate ceasefire" Tuesday after the latest border flare-up between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

"The escalation of hostilities at the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan must cease immediately," it said in a statement.

Chairman-in-Office of the security bloc and Foreign Minister of Poland, Zbigniew Rau, said in the statement that “the progress achieved so far by following the diplomatic path must not be squandered."

He noted that fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan jeopardized the process of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid also urged the sides to stop hostiles, adding: "Drawing on decades of experience and expertise, the OSCE stands ready to help."

Fifty Azerbaijani soldiers have been killed recently in provocations by Armenia, according to the Azerbaijan Defense Ministry.

Azerbaijan accused Armenia of recent "large-scale provocations,” claiming saboteurs planted mines and Armenian forces carried out “intensive” firing on Azerbaijani positions, it said.

The actions by Armenian forces led to the confrontation, it said, and there were casualties on both sides.

Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

In 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and more than 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia. The fighting ended with a deal brokered by Russia.