Early this morning, there was a serious violation of the ceasefire regime by Azerbaijan in the northeastern border area of Martakert region, in northern Nagorno Karabakh. This differs from previous breaches of the ceasefire that we have experienced during all these years. It differed in terms of the type of ammunition and armaments used. This was clearly a larger scale operation and more intensive. There are casualties. As of this moment, there is one injured from the Armenian side, and as the Azerbaijani press reported, two deaths from their side, and injuries too. These we can obviously not confirm.

The Armenian side lost certain territory as a result of Azerbaijan's attacks. The international mediators are informed about this, and the co-chairs are already involved. Ambassador Andrej Kasprcyk, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman in Office, and Matt Bryza, the US Assistant Undersecretary of State, are in Baku, trying to mediate the re-establishment of the ceasefire. This process encountered certain complications. While the Azerbaijanis were willing to re-establish the ceasefire regime, they were unwilling to return the territory they had advanced into. Although that territory has been recovered as a result of fighting, the fighting itself has not ceased. The ceasefire has not been reinstituted.

We condemn this encroachment at this critical stage. This cease-fire which has been maintained since 1994, is the longest lasting self-maintained ceasefire in the world. Azerbaijan's clear efforts to breach this ceasefire present a clear danger.

Together with the draft resolution that is being circulated in the UN General Assembly, these efforts to circumvent the negotiations process through both political and military escapades threaten peace in the region.