By Trend:

The European Union (EU) reaffirms its commitment to a peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, says an EU statement.

According to the statement, the EU reaffirms its support for the OSCE Minsk Group and expresses its full confidence in the co-chairs in their efforts to promote a search for a political, just and lasting solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which is necessary for the future of the region.

The EU suggests the parties to use the efforts of the co-chairs more effectively.

The European Union closely follows the developments in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which continues to be very unstable, according to the statement.

Last year was also remembered by the big number of victims and almost daily violations of the ceasefire, says the statement, adding that the cases of heavy artillery use or attacks on civilians are of particular concern.

The EU once again condemned all forms of use of force and urged the parties to avoid any actions that could lead to tension.

To this end, the EU called on the parties to strictly observe the ceasefire regime in line with their obligations.

The document says that the European Union welcomes the resumption of contacts at the highest level with the holding of a presidential summit in Geneva on October 16.

The EU considers very important the agreement between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan on intensification of the negotiation process, including at the ministerial level, as well as on new measures to reduce tensions on the line of contact.

The EU continues supporting the implementation of confidence-building measures adopted at summits in Vienna and St. Petersburg in 2016, including the expansion of powers of the personal representative of OSCE chairperson-in-office, humanitarian measures to exchange data on the missing as a result of the conflict, and further discussions on the establishment of an incident investigation mechanism, says the EU statement.

The European Union reiterated its commitment to the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the basis of fundamental principles of the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act.

The EU recognizes the fact that the status quo is unsustainable and dangerous, and calls for progress in developing a comprehensive peace treaty, says the document.

The European Union remains ready to support the efforts to resolve the conflict through its special representative, according to the statement.

The EU remains open to other confidence-building measures to support the Minsk Group, says the statement.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.