UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomes the statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group of 24 September 2021 on the joint meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan that took place under their auspices on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, says a statement by the press-office of the UN Secretary-General, Azeri Daily reports. 

One year after the hostilities in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, the Secretary-General is encouraged by the resumption of direct engagement at the level of the Foreign Ministers and hopes that such efforts will continue as part of a broader dialogue to resolve outstanding issues and reach a lasting peaceful settlement, says the statement.

The Secretary-General urges all concerned to focus their attention on advancing peace and cooperation at all levels for the benefit of the people in the region. The United Nations  stands ready to support such efforts through its ongoing humanitarian, recovery, development and peacebuilding work on the ground, emphasises the statement.

Earlier, on the side-lines of the high-level week of the UN General Assembly, a meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia Jeyhun Bayramov and Ararat Mirzoyan was held with the participation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.