GENEVA, September 26. /TASS/. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has expressed concern over the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and called for ensuring the rights of the Armenian population.

"I am following with concern the evolving and fragile humanitarian situation. It is important that the rights of the ethnic Armenian population on the ground are safeguarded and all actions rooted in international law. Protection of all civilians must be an absolute priority. Those affected must have access to humanitarian assistance," he said in a statement released on Tuesday.

He recalled that this is a duty of states "not to deny ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities the right to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion, or to use their own language." "Each State should also protect the existence and the national or ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identity of minorities within its territory and encourage conditions for promoting that identity," Turk stated.

Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) expressed readiness to act as a neutral mediator on the issue of safe passage for those willing to leave Nagorno-Karabakh. "The ICRC stands ready to act as a neutral intermediary and to facilitate safe passage operations provided that 1) the people concerned freely make the decision to leave and 2) this action is requested by and modalities are agreed upon with the authorities," it 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 conflicting sides to prevent civilian casualties and return to a diplomatic solution. On September 20, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced that an agreement had been reached in coordination with the Russian peacekeeping contingent to suspend the anti-terrorist operation in Nagorno-Karabakh.