OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Edi Rama has urged the sides to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to immediately return to the ceasefire.

Rama, who is also Albania’s Prime Minister and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, called for urgent de-escalation of the situation.

“I urge all involved to immediately return to the ceasefire before the human toll of this conflict increases any further,” the OSCE chief said.

Rama noted that the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and the Personal Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, have been in close contact with the sides.

The official said he fully supports their efforts to stabilize the situation on the ground and reiterated that there is no alternative to a peaceful negotiated solution of the conflict.

He also underscored his support for the Co-Chairs’ efforts to resume substantive negotiations without preconditions, as soon as possible.

The Chairperson-in-Office also offered his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this latest round of violence.

Azerbaijan launched a large-scale offensive along the entire contact line in Karabakh (Artsakh) in the morning of September 27, shelling Armenian positions and civilian settlements with large caliber weapons. Both Armenia and Karabakh have introduced martial law and total mobilization of their male population. The Armenian side has reported deaths and injuries both among the civilian population and the military.