THE UNITED NATIONS
U. N. leader Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called on Azerbaijan and Armenia to defuse tensions amid fighting that has killed both sides.
“The secretary-general is deeply involved with reports of renewed fighting along the Armenian-Azerbaijan border,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday.
Guterres suggested both sides take immediate steps to reduce tensions, exercise maximum restraint and resolve any notable issues through discussion and within existing formats, Dujarric said.
Azerbaijan accused Armenia of “large-scale provocations” in recent days, saboteurs planted mines and Armenian forces fired “intensely” at Azerbaijani positions.
These movements of Armenian forces led to confrontation, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said, adding that there were casualties on both sides, 50 Azerbaijani soldiers.
Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian army occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory identified worldwide as part of Azerbaijan.
In 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and more than three hundred occupied settlements and villages in Armenia, and the fighting ended with a Russian-brokered settlement.