Armenian security officials announced cease-fire agreement with Azerbaijan

Armenia and Azerbaijan negotiated a ceasefire to end a flare-up of fighting that has killed 155 soldiers from both sides, a senior Armenian official said early on Thursday.

"With the participation of the international community, a cease-fire has been reached," Armen Grigoryan, the secretary of Armenia's Security Council, said in televised remarks from Yerevan.

He added that the cease-fire came into effect from 8 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) on Wednesday. The announcement comes after a previous agreement, which was brokered by Russia as recently as Tuesday, had fallen by the wayside.

Azerbaijan yet to comment

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry has not yet confirmed the truce.

Both countries blamed each other for the initial provocation, which led to two days of shelling and more than 150 soldier casualties.

Earlier on Wednesday, Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Azerbaijani forces had taken control of 10 square kilometres (almost four square miles) of Armenian territory during the clashes.