The European Union hopes for a dialogue between Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents to continue, the head of EU Delegation to Azerbaijan said, Azeri media reported.

As Malena Mard told journalists, “a dialogue is the only way to move forward with the Karabakh settlement. The European Union welcomes continuation of talks.”

She also noted that the EU hopes to boost productiveness of work with the European Partnership member states.

As the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe President Anne Brasseur said earlier, meetings between the heads of Azerbaijani and Armenian delegations will continue.

“A dialogue should be conducted at the first opportunity. Therefore, I will remain committed to this tradition and try to promote the dialogue between the delegations of the two countries. From now on, I will try to hold joint meetings involving both delegations. The dialogue should be strengthened further. I will try to create an atmosphere of common understanding between them during this session. We should determine further steps to continue discussions in the future,” PACE President said.

On January 26, outgoing President of PACE expressed hope for conflicting parties "to end mutual accusations and start a constructive dialogue" for the Nagorno Karabakh issue settlement.

As Jean-Claude Mignon stated during the last news conference at the post, he always attempted to contribute to the settlement of the conflict by organizing meetings with the leaders of the two countries’ delegations. “I realize that the settlement of the conflict is a hard task. So far, OSCE Minsk Group has done a major job in promoting solution of the issue. I often meet the OSCE MG French co-chair Jacques Faure in Paris and am informed of the ongoing activities which the Group will soon announce about, along with presenting its offers.”

He further expressed concern over the escalated violence at the frontline, expressing hope for the sides to reach an agreement.

“In 2014, Armenia and Azerbaijan got a chance to settle the issue. The countries must use this historical moment to take concrete steps towards the settlement of the conflict,” Mignon said.

A Nagorno Karabakh army soldier Araik Babayan, 19, was killed March 27 in Azeri attack, when performing a combat mission in a military unit at the line of contact.

On the morning of March 24, Garnik Torosyan, 22, was shot dead while on duty at the contact line between Karabakh and Azeri armed forces.

A Nagorno Karabakh army soldier Arman Ghukasyan, 20, died from gunshot wounds while on duty on March 19; another serviceman, Varazdat Zakaryan was injured.

In late January, a Nagorno Karabakh army soldier, Karen Galstyan, aged 20, sustained a deadly injury in a sniper attack at the northern direction of the line of contact with the Azerbaijani armed forces.

Simultaneous attempts of penetration by the Azerbaijani subversive groups were recorded on January 19-20 in the north-eastern (Jraberd) and south-eastern (Korgan) directions of the line of contact . The front units of the armed forces of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic noticed the actions of the Azerbaijani subversive groups and started an organized defense in both directions. The rival was thrown back suffering palpable human and material losses. Junior Sergeant Armen Hovhannisyan died from the wounds he received during the exchange of fire in the north-eastern direction.

Also, as a result of the continuous firing from the Azerbaijani side, a 16-year-old girl was wounded in her leg on Jan 23 night in Aygepar village of Armenia’s Tavush province. Intensive fire was registered in the direction of Armenian border villages of Nerkin Karmraghbyur, Aygepar, Chinari and Movses, RA Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan told PanARMENIAN.Net