French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday, September 26 that he told Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on September 14 that that the absence of demarcated borders can’t justify any advance into the territory of another country.

The latest round of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan began in the wee hours of September 13, when the Azerbaijani military attacked Armenian posts and shelled Armenian settlements both on the border and deep behind the frontline. At least 207 people are dead or missing as a result, the Security Council of Armenia said on Monday.

“Large-scale military operations took place on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan, causing many casualties. The territory of Armenia was targeted, civil infrastructures were destroyed. In the face of this unacceptable situation, France has assumed its commitments,” Macron said in his remarks after meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Paris on Monday.

“France, holding the presidency of the UN Security Council, convened a meeting of the Security Council, where the situation was discussed twice, on September 14 and 15. The Council members demanded a speedy cessation of hostilities and respect for the ceasefire. Taking into account that there are occupied positions, France demanded that the Azerbaijani forces return to their initial positions. I told President Aliyev on September 14 that the fact that the border is not demarcated cannot justify any advance into the territory of the other country.”

Macron noted that it was necessary to resume dialogue and maintained that unresolved issues, “which are numerous”, should be resolved exclusively through negotiations.