Italy welcomes the renewed humanitarian truce agreed between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the weekend with the mediation of France in its capacity as co-chair of the Minsk Group and calls on the parties to respect their commitments, putting an end to any breach of the agreement.
We express our condolences for the many civilian casualties. We strongly condemn the attacks on Ganja, as well as the indiscriminate bombing of populated areas on both sides, particularly in Stepanakert/Khankendi.
We, therefore, join with the appeals of the UN Secretary-General and the international community for full respect of international humanitarian law on both sides, to put an end to any further suffering to their respective populations already sorely tried by many years of conflict.
We also renew our strong hope that Armenia and Azerbaijan will once again engage in a constructive dialogue, within the negotiating framework of the Minsk Group. We strongly support the efforts made by its Co-Presidents to this end.
