(Reuters) -Russia called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to cease hostilities and observe a ceasefire agreement on Tuesday, expressing “extreme concern” over renewed fighting between the two countries.
In a statement, Russia’s foreign ministry said it had brokered a ceasefire at 0900 Moscow time (0600 GMT) this morning and it expected both sides to fulfill the terms of the agreement.
“We express our extreme concern over the sharp aggravation of the situation in areas of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border,” the foreign ministry said.
“We call on the sides to refrain from further escalation of the situation, exercise restrain and strictly observe the ceasefire.”
Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said earlier on Tuesday in a speech to parliament that the intensity of fighting had reduced, but was still active in some areas. Azerbaijani media said the ceasefire broke down within 15 minutes.
Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region of the South Caucasus, is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but the local ethnic Armenian residents reject Baku’s sovereignty over the region. It has been the source of fierce tensions between the two countries for decades.
In its statement, Russia said the dispute should be resolved “exclusively through political and diplomatic means.”
Both sides blamed each other for the flare-up in hostilities overnight, which Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said left 49 Armenian soldiers dead.
Moscow, an ally of Yerevan through the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) military alliance, but which also retains close friendly relations with Baku, did not say who it saw as responsible for the latest escalation.
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
