Calling for “urgent de-escalation and full ceasefire”, Charles Michel, President of the European Council, described the situation in the region as “challenging”.
“The EU is committed to work with partners to overcome tensions for a prosperous and stable South Caucasus,” Michel wrote on Twitter.
The president of the European Council also said that he had discussions with the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia – President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian – “in light of today’s developments.”
Meanwhile, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde, who is the current OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, expressed her full support for the Minsk Group Co-Chairs, who issued a statement over the Armenian-Azerbaijani border tensions and the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh earlier this week.
“I share the deep concern of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs regarding reported incidents in the region, including those along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. I express my full support for their efforts and call on the sides to de-escalate immediately and take steps to resolve the outstanding issues,” Linde wrote on Twitter.
Earlier on Tuesday Armenia asked Russia for assistance in defending against Azerbaijan amid renewed clashes along the border, a year after a cease-fire stopped an intense war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
As of late afternoon, Yerevan said that there were casualties – both dead and wounded – among Armenian soldiers, confirming that at least four Armenian soldiers were wounded in border clashes with Azerbaijani forces, while 12 Armenian soldiers were taken prisoner.
Armenia’s Defense Ministry also said that two Armenian border outposts were lost in the battles. It said that the situation along the eastern border with Azerbaijan remained “extremely tense.”
Baku has confirmed that two Azerbaijani troops were wounded in the fighting.