On 22 July, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a phone call to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres first expressed his concern over the military stand-off at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and expressed his regret over human casualties. The UN Secretary-General also noted that the status quo in the negotiations on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict could not last forever and called for an end to hostilities and a continuation of negotiations.

President Ilham Aliyev expressed his gratitude to the UN Secretary-General for his phone call and personal attention to the events at the border. The head of state said that the Armenian side had fired not only on Azerbaijani military but also targeted Azerbaijani villages, killing a 76-year-old civilian along with the Azerbaijani servicemen. As a result of an adequate response of the Azerbaijani army, the Armenian attack was stopped and the situation is now relatively stable. President Ilham Aliyev stressed that the clashes took place far from the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts, adding that Azerbaijan has no military goals in the territory of Armenia. We simply have to protect and are protecting our territories and people.

The head of state agreed with the UN Secretary-General that the status quo could not last forever and noted that Azerbaijan had always demonstrated a constructive position at the negotiating table. However, the Armenian prime minister’s statements that “Nagorno-Karabakh is Armenia” and that “Azerbaijan should negotiate with Nagorno-Karabakh, not Armenia” seriously jeopardize the negotiations.

The head of state reiterated that Armenia has been flouting UN Security Council resolutions calling for an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian forces from all occupied territories of Azerbaijan for nearly 30 years. President Ilham Aliyev once again thanked the UN Secretary-General for the phone call and attention to the events at the border.