OSCE Head concerned about escalation in Stepanakert, he intends to meet with Mirzoyan and Bayramov

YEREVAN, September 19. /ARKA/. OSCE Chairman-in-Office Bujar Osmani has announced a meeting with the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

"As the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, I am deeply concerned about reports of military operations and the associated danger to civilians in Stepanakert. I call for immediate de-escalation," Osmani wrote on social media X. He said peaceful dialog should be the only option, humanitarian interests should prevail.

"Today I will meet with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov and Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UNGA in New York and reiterate my call to continue diplomatic engagement and prioritize efforts to achieve sustainable peace," he said.

The Azerbaijani defense ministry said in a statement Tuesday it launched “local anti-terrorist activities” to “suppress large-scale provocations in the Karabakh economic region,” and “to disarm and secure the withdrawal of formations of Armenia’s armed forces from our territories.”

At the moment, the intensity of fire on the line of contact has significantly decreased, the Artsakh Defense Army reported. Earlier, the Karabakh side appealed to the Azerbaijani side to immediately stop hostilities and sit down at the negotiating table to settle the situation. -0-