UNITED NATIONS, July 22 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday urged the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to solve their border dispute through peaceful means.
"Today, the secretary-general held separate calls with President Ilham Heydar oglu Aliyev of Azerbaijan and with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia. In both calls, the secretary-general expressed his ongoing concern over the hostilities that have been reported along the Armenia-Azerbaijan international border as well as prevailing tensions," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Guterres, said at the regular briefing.
The secretary-general reiterated his call for immediate and full de-escalation, refraining from provocative rhetoric, and a return to negotiations, said Dujarric.
"To that end, the secretary-general repeated our full support for the important efforts of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group Co-Chairs and his expectation that both leaders will continue to work towards a peaceful resolution of the longstanding conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh," said the spokesman.
The international community has expressed serious concern over the recent escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a war over Nagorno-Karabakh in the late 1980s and early 1990s as they transitioned into independent countries amid the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
