Azerbaijan unilaterally declares ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh region

BAKU - Azerbaijan unilaterally suspended all military operations and response measures in the high-strung disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region with Armenia, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

The move was made in light of international organizations' appeals, the ministry said in a statement.

"If the Armenian armed forces do not stop provocative actions and continue shelling the residential areas and combat positions, the Azerbaijani armed forces will continue offensive operations to destroy the Armenian forces to liberate the occupied lands," the statement said.

Six Armenian tanks, 15 gun mounts and reinforced engineering structures have been destroyed and more than 100 Armenian soldiers were killed during the fights, it added.

Hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the contact line of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region have reportedly flared up overnight Saturday with the two countries' defense ministries blaming each other for triggering the escalation.

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said 12 Azerbaijani soldiers have been killed in the fighting while the Armenian side confirmed that 18 soldiers died in the conflict.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a bitter dispute over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh first broke out in 1988, when the region claimed independence from Azerbaijan to join Armenia.

Peace talks have been held since 1994 when a ceasefire was reached, but there have been occasional minor clashes in the past along the borders and across the volatile frontline of the Karabakh area. The clashes obviously escalated last month.

On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the parties in the conflict to "observe an immediate ceasefire and exercise restraint in order to prevent further casualties," according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.