Armenian Defense Ministry issued a statement on Azerbaijan’s ceasefire violations on Thursday, September 24 and its consequences. The Ministry’s message reads:

“The Azerbaijani side violated ceasefire on September 24 on the northeastern part of the border with Armenia, using various caliber weapons and mortars. They shelled border villages, killing civilians in the province of Tavush.

It is worth mentioning that Azerbaijan provokes the situation ahead of peace talks and meetings on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, deliberately escalating the situation on the border. All this proves once again that the political leadership of the neighboring state ignores initiatives on peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict and regularly destabilizes the situation at the contact line.

The Armenian Defense Ministry once again calls on the Azerbaijani side to avoid escalation and take effective measures to stabilize the situation. We call on the Azerbaijani population of the areas near the Armenian border to avoid serving as a shield for their armed forces. To stabilize the situation and restrain the Azerbaijani troops, the Armenian armed forces will take retaliatory measures, with Azerbaijani military-political authorities bearing the entire responsibility of the consequences.”

OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair James Warlick, in turn, twitted that the Co-chairs are "in touch with officials in Armenia and Azerbaijan about renewed violence urging an end to attacks and reprisals."