Guterres Urged Azerbaijan and Armenia to Restrain

UN warns of catastrophic consequences of conflict between two countries UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on Azerbaijan and Armenia to show maximum restraint after clashes on the border between the two countries. “The Secretary General is following with deep concern the current tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia. He calls for maximum restraint, as a full conflict between the two countries would be disastrous,” UN Secretary General’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The neighboring countries have long been in conflict over Azerbaijan’s breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, inhabited mainly by ethnic Armenians. But the latest flare-ups are around the Tavush region in northeastern Armenia, about 300 km from the enclave. Russia, which has a military base in Armenia, has urged the two sides to cease fire and show restraint. The Kremlin has announced that Moscow is ready to mediate. International concern is heightened by the threat to stability in the region, serving as a corridor for pipelines taking oil and gas from the Caspian Sea to global markets.