UN Security Council calls for calm in Karabakh

The council members said in the statement that they express their "support for the Secretary-General's call on the two sides to stop the fighting immediately, de-escalate tensions and return without delay to constructive negotiations."

The presidential statement was issued at the end of an emergency meeting held by the Council at the request of the European member states: Belgium, Estonia, Germany, France and Britain.

The statement added that the members of the Council "strongly condemn the use of force, and regret the loss of life among civilians."

The members of the Security Council also expressed their "concern over reports of widespread military actions along the front line " in the region.

At the end of the statement, "the members of the Security Council expressed their full support for the central role of the co-chairs of the Minsk Group (the United States, Russia and France) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and urged the two sides to work closely with them in order to resume the dialogue urgently and without preconditions."

The Armenian and Azerbaijani forces are fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, the bloodiest battles in the region since 2016.

T/S

ANHA