BAKU, September 21. /TASS/. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry has denied reports about an offensive by its army in the direction of the town of Khankendi (Stepanakert).

"The rumors posted on some Armenian accounts in the social media that the Azerbaijani army has allegedly gone on the offensive in the direction of Khankendi do not correspond to reality and are disinformation. We categorically refute this," the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

On September 19, tensions flared up again in Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku announced it was launching what it described as "local anti-terrorist measures" and demanded the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the region. Yerevan, in turn, said there were no Armenian forces in Karabakh, calling what was happening "an act of large-scale aggression."

Russia called on the parties to the conflict to stop the bloodshed and return to a diplomatic settlement. On September 20, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced that with the participation of the Russian peacekeeping contingent an agreement was reached on the suspension of anti-terrorist activities in Karabakh starting from 12:00 p.m. Moscow time. On Thursday, a meeting of representatives from Baku and the Armenian population of Karabakh began in the Azerbaijani town of Yevlakh. It was to discuss "reintegration issues."