The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will hold emergency talks Tuesday behind closed doors regarding the Armenian-occupied region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where fierce fighting has raged since the weekend, diplomats said Monday.
The meeting will be held at 5 p.m. (9 p.m. GMT), diplomats said. Belgium formally requested the session, after France and Germany led the push for it to be placed on the agenda.
As early as Sunday, Estonia – a nonpermanent UNSC member – emphasized the need for such talks about the outbreak of deadly violence in the occupied region.
Britain also joined the European push for the talks, diplomats said and added that a joint declaration could be issued at its conclusion – either by the entire council or its European members if a full consensus cannot be reached.
Ahead of the planned UNSC meeting, Turkey's Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun expressed in a series of tweets Ankara's hopes of finding common ground and a solution in the meeting.
Stating that the Armenian aggression is a clear violation of the Geneva Agreements, Altun said that the international community must know that Azerbaijan’s aim is to protect the security of its civilians and to liberate its territories from occupation.
“In this process, we see that our brother Azerbaijan has conducted all diplomatic, equal and fair initiatives with a big devotion, just like every responsible state does. We observe that Azerbaijan has strictly adhered to the rules of international law,” Altun added.
The clashes come in the middle of the annual U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) and raise fears of a war between ex-Soviet republics Azerbaijan and Armenia in the Caucasus.
Tensions rose in the southern Caucasus between neighboring Armenia and Azerbaijan on Sunday morning over clashes in which Yerevan said Azerbaijani forces shelled the region of Nagorno-Karabakh and Baku accused Armenian forces of shelling Azerbaijani military and civilian positions.
Russia has a military alliance with Armenia, while Turkey backs Azerbaijan.
Moscow boasts a significant military presence in Armenia, including a land forces base near the northwestern city of Gyumri and air force assets deployed near the capital Yerevan.
At least 95 people have been killed in the most recent fighting, including 11 civilians, according to the latest available tallies.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev ordered martial law to be imposed in some regions of the country and called for a curfew in major cities on Monday, following a parliamentary decision for military mobilization on Sunday.
