Defense minister urges swift end to Nagorno-Karabakh clashes

Defense minister has talked with his Azeri and Armenian counterparts over ongoing clashes involving the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

According to Press TV, Brigadier-General Hossein Dehqan held a telephone conversation with Colonels-General Zakir Hasanov and Seyran Ohanyan on Sunday, insisting on the need for the confrontation to come to an end as soon as possible.

He also urged restraint by both countries and advised that the crisis be resolved through negotiations.

As many as 12 Azeri soldiers and 18 Armenian forces have been killed in the worst violence to engulf the border region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is disputed by the two, over the past two days. Both sides have accused one another of having initiated offensive.

Earlier in the day, Azerbaijan announced unilateral ceasefire as a gesture of goodwill, but warned it will "liberate all occupied territories" in case the Armenian forces "do not stop provocations."

Azeri officials and authorities in the region, however, say fighting is persisting, with Vagif Dargyakhly, a spokesman for Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry reporting on Sunday that Azerbaijani positions had come under fire overnight and that civilian areas had also been hit.

SS