EU summit: Leaders call for end to Armenia-Azerbaijan fighting

European Union heads of state and government early Friday called for an immediate end to the violence that has recently flared up between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“The loss of life and the toll on the civilian population are unacceptable,” the European Council said in a statement issued in Brussels during an EU summit.

There can be no military solution and Azerbaijan and Armenia should engage in substantive negotiations without preconditions, the statement added.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell will look into potential ways of offering European support.

France, the United States and Russia issued a joint statement on Thursday calling for a ceasefire and condemning the escalation of violence.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been engaged in intense fighting in recent days over Nagorno-Karabakh, held by Christian Armenian forces for decades but internationally considered part of predominantly Muslim Azerbaijan.

More than 100 people, including several civilians, have been reported killed in the flare-up, which began on Sunday. It is the bloodiest fighting between the two neighbouring, former Soviet countries in the past four years.

Source: GNA