October 31, 2020

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Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on Armenia and Azerbaijan

Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General

The Secretary-General fully supports the call of the Co-Chairs OSCE Minsk Group for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, as agreed in Moscow on 10 October, and confirmed subsequently in Paris on 17 October and in Washington D.C., on 25 October. The call is contained in the statement issued today by the Co-Chairs at the end of their meetings in Geneva with the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The Secretary-General remains deeply concerned by reports of continuing hostilities, which continue to affect civilians. He condemns all such attacks and reiterates that both sides have the obligation, under international humanitarian law, to take utmost care to spare and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure in the conduct of military operations.

The Secretary-General calls on the sides to implement, in good faith and on an urgent basis, the concrete steps they agreed to take through the facilitation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, as well as their previous commitments. He urges the sides to continue engaging in a substantive dialogue and to intensify their efforts with the facilitation of the Co-Chairs to reach a peaceful and sustainable settlement of the conflict.