European Council President Donald Tusk says the European Union believes the only way to resolve a decades-old dispute between Baku and Yerevan over Nagorno Karabakh is through “a political settlement in accordance with international and principles,” RFE/RL reports

Tusk made the remarks after meeting in Baku on Tuesday, July 9 with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Tusk said the EU appreciates an overall decrease of tensions between Azerbaijan and Karabakh.

But he said the EU is concerned about recent casualties along the line of contact where Azerbaijani and ethnic-Armenian forces are deployed.

“Restraint is important and so are measures to restore an atmosphere conducive to peace and favorable to productive talks,” Tusk said.

Internationally mediated negotiations involving the OSCE's Minsk Group helped forge a ceasefire in the region.

But the ceasefire is not always honored, and mediation efforts have failed to produce a lasting settlement to the conflict.