Guterres hopes Azerbaijan-Armenia ceasefire will last

At a meeting with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed hope for the ceasefire between Azerbaijan and Armenia to be maintained, the UN Public Relations Department told the local bureau of Report.

According to the information, mutual cooperation between Azerbaijan and the UN, future directions of action and the latest situation in the region were discussed at the bilateral meeting.

During the conversation, the parties exchanged views on the events taking place on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The secretary-general expressed hope for the maintenance of the ceasefire regime and stressed that the UN supports all efforts to resolve tensions between the two countries by peaceful means. He also stressed the importance of reducing tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the normalization process.

Guterres noted that Azerbaijan has exemplary cooperation relations with the UN, and it is important to deepen cooperation in all areas.

The secretary-general said that he highly appreciates the globally significant initiatives put forward by Azerbaijan as the chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Minister Bayramov said that over the 30th anniversary of Azerbaijan’s membership in the UN, which was celebrated this year, relations have developed in an ascending line, and the country has launched large-scale initiatives within the UN in a number of areas, especially in the field of maintaining peace and security. Jeyhun Bayramov noted with satisfaction that the visits of the president of the UN General Assembly and other high-level leaders to Azerbaijan in recent years have contributed to the further development of cooperation.

The chairmanship of Azerbaijan in the Non-Aligned Movement and its initiatives in this context were noted. Later, the minister gave detailed information about the large-scale provocations of Armenia and Azerbaijan’s initiatives in the field of peacebuilding. Informing the opposite side about the restoration and reconstruction work in the liberated Azerbaijani territories, the return of internally displaced persons to the region, the minister stressed the importance of building up international efforts to eliminate the mine threat in the country’s territories.

At the meeting, the parties also exchanged views on other issues on the UN agenda and of mutual interest.