Major powers call for restraint in Karabakh

World powers called for restraint, after clashes between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces left at least three dead and several injured in the disputed areas in Nagorno-Karabakh, civilnet reported.

Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, said that “the Secretary-General is following with concern recent reports of tensions in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh region.”

The UN “urges the sides to exercise restraint and address all outstanding issues through dialogue,” Dujarric added.

Russia, which brokered the 2020 ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan and deployed peacekeepers to the region, “expressed extreme concern” about the clashes and “called on the sides to exercise restraint and observe the ceasefire regime,” according to a Foreign Ministry statement.

“Russian peacekeepers are making every effort to stabilize the situation on the ground,” the statement said, adding that “active work with both sides is being conducted through all channels and at all levels, including the country’s top leadership.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in Karabakh at a meeting of Russia’s Security Council in Moscow and the members of the Security Council, which includes Russia’s top defense and security officials, “stressed the need to comply with all the provisions of the tripartite (ceasefire) agreement.”

Peskov also told the TASS news agency that Russia is “indeed, watching very carefully” the developments in Karabakh and reiterated the need for restraint and respecting the ceasefire.

The US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the “United States is deeply concerned by and closely following the reports” coming out of Karabakh and “urges immediate steps to reduce tensions and avoid further escalation.”

The State Department’s statement stressed “the need for a negotiated, comprehensive, and sustainable settlement” of the Karabakh conflict, but did not mention the Russia-brokered ceasefire.

On Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken “raised the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict” in a phone call with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, “noting that the United States is ready to engage bilaterally, with like minded partners, and through our role as an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair” to help resolve the Karabakh conflict.

Meanwhile, Javier Colomina, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s special representative for the Caucasus, wrote on his personal Twitter account that “NATO calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities” and “urges both sides to de-escalate and return to the negotiating table.”

The European Union, which has forged a greater role for itself in Karabakh mediation efforts in recent months, released a statement that “calls for an immediate cessation of the hostilities.”

It is “essential to de-escalate, fully respect the ceasefire and return to the negotiating table,” the statement continued, adding that Brussels “remains committed to help overcome tensions and continue its engagement” in the region.