UN Security Council Urges Halt to Karabakh Fighting

NEW YORK — The United Nations Security Council called late on Tuesday for an immediate end to hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh and unconditional resumption of Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks.

The council said after a closed-door session in New York that its 15 member states “strongly condemn the use of force and regret the loss of life and the toll on the civilian population.”

“Security Council members voiced support for the call by the [UN] Secretary General on the sides to immediately stop fighting, de-escalate tensions and return to meaningful negotiations without delay,” it said in a statement.

“Security Council members expressed their full support for the central role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and urge the sides to work closely with them for an urgent resumption of dialogue without preconditions,” added the statement.

The Minsk Group is co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France, three of the council’s five permanent members. The mediating powers have also expressed concern about the dramatic escalation of the Karabakh conflict in separate statements made in recent days.

The Security Council meeting was reportedly initiated by Estonia. Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s ambassadors to the UN did not attend it. The council had not discussed the Karabakh dispute since 1993.