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Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan gave an interview with RFE/RL Armenian service on December 18. He commented on flagrant violations of the ceasefire by Azerbaijan ahead of the upcoming meeting of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan on December 19, Armenian Foreign Ministry said.

Edward Nalbandyan said:

“We strongly condemn an unprecedented escalation by Azerbaijan of the situation on the line of contact with Artsakh that claimed many human lives, ahead of a meeting of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan scheduled to take place on December 19 on the initiative of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs.
We express our heartfelt condolences to the families of the killed servicemen of Defense Army of Artsakh.
Before each high-level meeting, escalation of tension on the line of contact as a result of Azerbaijani provocations has become a regular occurrence.  Baku has illusions that it can negotiate by the use of force. Despite the Co-Chairs’ numerous calls for non-use of force, Azerbaijan again plunges into adventure. With such steps, Baku tries to divert the negotiating process from the main goal, which is resolution of the issue and establishment of peace

In this situation, it becomes imperative  to reduce the tension by means of creating a  mechanism of incidents investigation as proposed by the Co-Chairs, strengthening  the monitoring mission of the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office as well as increasing  the number of his field assistants. We expect the co-chairing countries to take practical steps to this end".