UNITD NATIONS, Sep 24 (TASS) - UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres met with the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan to express his concern about the latest round of escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh and call upon the countries to strictly observe the ceasefire.

"The Secretary-General expressed concern regarding the recent military escalation in the region and stressed the importance of strict observance of the ceasefire," the UN chief’s office said in a statement about a meeting between Guterres and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov.

A separate document about a meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan also contains a call to observe the ceasefire. Besides, it underlines "the United Nations’ support to all mediation efforts to reach long-standing peace in the region."

On September 19, tensions flared up again in Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku announced it was launching what it described as "local anti-terrorist measures" and demanded the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the region. Yerevan, in turn, said there were no Armenian forces in Karabakh, calling what was happening "an act of large-scale aggression." The Russian Foreign Ministry called on the parties to end the bloodshed and return to efforts to resolve the issue diplomatically. On September 20, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced that an agreement on the suspension of the anti-terrorist measures in Karabakh had been reached through the mediation of Russia’s peacekeeping mission.

Photo from AFP