/By Azernews/

By Nazrin Gadimova

The OSCE Troika believes that there is no military solution to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

This was stated following the meeting of Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and German Foreign Minister with Ivica Da?i?, Serbia's Foreign Minister and his Austrian counterpart Sebastian Kurz, as well as the OSCE Secretary General, Lamberto Zannier, who mulled recent development in the OSCE region.

The members of the OSCE Troika discussed situation in Ukraine and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, as well as condemned terror attacks in Ankara, Istanbul, Brussels and Paris, according to the joint statement.

Touching upon the recent escalation in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, the OSCE Troika urged the sides to end all violence, to strictly adhere to the ceasefire, and underlined that there can be no military solution to the conflict.

Moreover, they agreed that de-escalation and stepping up the political process have a paramount importance.

Before the meeting of the Troika, Steinmeier told media there is a need to hold serious talks aimed at solving the crisis in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The German Foreign Minister then added that he welcomed the armistice between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but at the same time he emphasized that the existing status quo cannot provide security.

On the night of April 2, 2016, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire from the Armenian side, which used large-caliber weapons, mortars and grenade launchers. The armed clashes resulted in deaths and injuries among the Azerbaijani population. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-attack, which led to liberation of several strategic heights and settlements.

Since April 2, when tensions on the contact line of the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops aggravated, Azerbaijani troops have destroyed more than 370 enemy soldiers, 12 tanks, 12 armored vehicles and 15 artillery pieces.

Military operations were stopped on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian armies on Apr. 5 at 12:00 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours) with the consent of the sides, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry earlier said. Ignoring the agreement, the Armenian side again started violating the ceasefire.