UN Security Council Calls On Armenia, Azerbaijan To Respect Ceasefire

United Nations (UN) Security Council members called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to respect a new ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh during a meeting on the disputed region Monday, according to France 24.

The council held closed-door discussions on the fighting, which has left hundreds dead since clashes erupted on September 27, at the UN headquarters in New York.

During the meeting, which was requested by France, Russia and the US, the council's 15 members reiterated a plea by UN chief Antonio Guterres for parties to respect a new ceasefire.

"Everyone was saying the same thing: the situation is bad and both sides need to pull back and heed the Secretary-General's calls for a ceasefire," a UN diplomat told AFP.

The text -- which is expected to be agreed between council members this week -- will also call on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume negotiations facilitated by the Minsk Group.

It is worth mentioning that, Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other on Sunday of violating a new humanitarian ceasefire in fighting over over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, hours after it was agreed upon, according to Reuters.

The truce agreed on Saturday came into force at midnight after a week-old Russian-brokered ceasefire failed to halt the worst fighting in the South Caucasus since the 1990’s.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a mountain territory that is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but populated and governed by ethnic Armenians.