<span style="color: #222222;">UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the joint statement yesterday  by the United States, Armenia and Azerbaijan announcing that a previously reached humanitarian cease-fire agreement will take effect from today, said spokesperson of UN Secretary Stephane Dujarric, in a statement in NewYork.<br />''<br />''Guterres commended the facilitation efforts of the United States, with the support of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group Co-Chairs.<br />''<br />''The secretary-general expected the parties to abide by all their commitments and to work jointly together with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to take concrete steps toward a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said the statement.<br />''<br />''Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at loggerheads over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988. Peace talks have been held since 1994 when a cease-fire was reached, but there have been sporadic minor clashes. A new round of armed conflict broke out along the contact line on September 27.</span><br />