MOSCOW, PARIS, WASHINGTON D.C., 26 February, 2017 - The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassadors Igor Popov of Russia, Stephane Visconti of France and Richard Hoagland of the United States of America, released the following statement today:

According to reports from the Ministries of Defence of Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as other sources, in the early morning of 25 February there was a serious breach of ceasefire on the Line of Contact (LOC), resulting in casualties. Several bodies remain in no-man's land. The Sides accuse each other of an incursion attempt.

The Co-Chairs call upon the Parties to keep heavy military equipment, which had been moved earlier close to the LOC, in its present positions and to allow recovery of the dead, as it was agreed upon yesterday under the mediation of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office.

The Co-Chairs remind the Parties of their commitments to refrain from the use of force.