CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas has expressed “serious concern” over the resumption of the armed conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh on September 27, with deaths and injuries reported on both sides.

Azerbaijan unleashed a large-scale offensive against Karabakh (Artsakh) in the morning of September 27, shelling Armenian positions and civilian settlements with large caliber weapons and rocket systems. Armenia and Karabakh have introduced martial law and total mobilization. The Armenian side has reported deaths and injuries both among the civilian population and the military.

“The situation is not conducive to the implementation of the 1994 ceasefire agreement and mutual obligations to not use force, but reach a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” the organization said.

“It is necessary to immediately restore the ceasefire and return to the negotiation process mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. The solution to the conflict is possible only by political and diplomatic methods.”