OSCE MG Co-Chairs called on Karabakh Conflict Parties to restrain  their rhetoric and actions

ArmInfo.The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France and Richard Hoagland of the United States of America, made a joint statement, the OSCE press service told ArmInfo.

As the source informes, the main purpose of the Co-Chairs' visits to  the region was to receive the most current detailed political and  military information on the Line of Contact and the  Armenia-Azerbaijan border, to discuss the implementation of  agreements reached at 2016 Summits in Vienna and St. Petersburg and  to address the next steps toward a settlement.

The Co-Chairs met with the Presidents and Foreign Ministers of  Azerbaijan and Armenia and the de facto authorities of  Nagorno-Karabakh. They also visited territories around  Nagorno-Karabakh. In their talks, the Co-Chairs reiterated their deep  concern over recent incidents along the Line of Contact, calling on  the sides to exercise restraint in their rhetoric and in their  actions. The Presidents laid out their positions on the Co- Chairs'  proposals to strengthen the ceasefire and to avoid further escalation  of hostilities, particularly in light of the Novruz and Easter  holidays. They expressed their commitment to continuing the  negotiation process toward a political solution.

In their talks, the Co-Chairs stressed the essential importance of  continued support for Ambassador Kasprzyk's mission and its  expansion. The Co-Chairs also emphasized their conviction that  respect for the ceasefire is of the utmost importance for building an  atmosphere of trust to enable further negotiations.

The Co-Chairs will soon travel to Vienna to brief the members of the  Minsk Group.