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During a private meeting on Monday, Security Council members called on both Armenia and Azerbaijan to respect a new armistice they had agreed to in Nagorno Karabakh, the separatist region that
During a closed-door meeting on Monday, members of the UN Security Council called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to respect a new truce they had agreed to in Nagorno Karabakh, the separatist region where fighting between the two sides has left hundreds of dead since September 27.
During the meeting, which was held at the request of France, Russia and the United States, the fifteen members of the Council reiterated the call made by the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, to the two parties to respect the “humanitarian armistice” that supposed to go into effect on Sunday.
“They all shared the same point of view: the situation is bad, and both sides should step back and respond to the Secretary-General’s calls for a ceasefire,” said a UN diplomat.
According to diplomats, Russia, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council, is working to issue a statement calling for commitment to the ceasefire.
The draft declaration, on which Council members are expected to agree this week, also calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume negotiations sponsored by the Minsk Group.
Russia, France, and the United States preside over the Minsk group, which was established by the OSCE in 1992 to find a solution to this regional conflict.
The humanitarian truce was supposed to start at midnight from Sunday to Monday (20:00 GMT Sunday), but Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said Monday morning that Armenian separatist forces shelled the lands of the Agjabirdi region and at night the areas of Ghananboy, Tatar and Agdam.
For their part, the Nagorno Karabakh authorities accused Azerbaijan of firing artillery at night “against various sectors of the front” and continuing their attacks in the morning. “The Karabakh army is taking proportionate measures,” he said.
