Georgian calls for peaceful settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Georgian President Georgy Margvelashvili urged the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to exert maximum efforts to achieve a peaceful settlement of the tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh. He made the statement at an international people’s diplomacy forum held within the framework of the NATO Week in Georgia, TASS reports.

“We very much hope that the leaders of Armenian and Azerbaijan will exert maximum efforts for settling the tense situation by both peaceful and diplomatic means with the active participation in the international community for the conflict’s peaceful resolution,” he said.

Georgia’s Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze has spoken on the phone with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandyan about the current fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops in Nagorno-Karabakh, Georgia.ge reports.

Last night the Georgian official instigated the phone conversation following a similar talk with Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

“The Georgian Foreign Minister expressed his extreme concern over the recent escalation of the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone along the Line of Contact, which resulted in casualties, inter alia, among the peaceful population,” Georgia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Janelidze said cessation of hostilities and ensuring peace on the ground was of “vital importance”.

He underlined continued fighting would aggravate the current situation and have a negative impact on regional stability.

During the conversation, the Georgian official put particular emphasis on the need to use all possible formats to deescalate the situation through the involvement of the international community.