Council of Europe calls both sides to Karabakh conflict to stop the unnecessary bloodshed which leads nowhere, the CoE Secretary General said in his statement.

"I am dismayed and deeply concerned by the escalation of hostilities at the contact line in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone. The Council of Europe urges both sides to stop this totally unnecessary bloodshed which leads nowhere except to further violence and loss of lives including of many civilians. I urge the parties to protect the right to life as guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights, and to return to the ceasefire and resume peaceful negotiations. This is a humanitarian imperative," Thorbjarn Jagland stressed.