Chinese envoy calls for restraint to de-escalate Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Thursday called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to exercise restraint to de-escalate border tensions.

China is concerned about the recent armed conflicts and casualties in the border areas of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Maintaining regional peace and stability is in the common interests of the two countries, said Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations.

"We call on the two countries to exercise restraint, persist in resolving problems and differences through political dialogue, and take measures to avoid further escalation of the situation," he said.

Geng called on the two sides, which have agreed on a new cease-fire agreement after three days of fighting, to abide by this agreement in a common effort to ease the situation.

The normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan is inseparable from the proper settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. China supports the resolution of differences through political dialogue and hopes that all parties will find a proper settlement as soon as possible in line with universally recognized international law and norms governing international relations, he said.

China welcomes and supports the November 2020 cease-fire brokered by Russia, and will continue to support positive progress to be made on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, he said.

Armenia and Azerbaijan are inseparable neighbors. Maintaining stable bilateral relations and developing forward-looking friendly cooperation is not only in the fundamental interests of the two countries and the two peoples, but also conducive to peace and stability of the whole region, said Geng.

"We hope and believe that both countries have full political wisdom in their possession and are able to resolve problems and differences through dialogue and consultation, restore peace and stability and achieve common security. China is willing to work with the international community to make constructive efforts in easing the situation," he said.