Co-Chairs of OSCE Minsk Group call upon sides to stop shooting

The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, James Warlick of the United States of America, and Pierre Andrieu of France) express grave concern over the reported large-scale ceasefire violations that are taking place along the Line of Contact in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, the press-service of OSCE informed ArmInfo. 

"We strongly condemn the use of force and regret the senseless loss of life, including civilians.  W call upon the sides to stop shooting and take all necessary measures to stabilize the situation on the ground and reiterate that there is no alternative to a peaceful negotiated solution of the conflict and that war is not an option", the co-chairs' statement reads. 

On April 1 night, the Azerbaijani army attacked the positions of the NKR Defense Army along the entire line of contact, using artillery, armored vehicles and air force. The adversary targeted also the populated areas and civil facilities. Fierce battles are still going on along the line of contact. The Armenian Air Defense Forces took retaliatory measures, shooting down 2 Azerbaijani military helicopters, 2 drones, and destroying 3 battle tanks.