In a televised speech tonight, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev declared the deployment of his troops against the Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh region completed, DPA reported.

"Azerbaijan has restored its sovereignty over the area," he said from Baku.

So far, there is no comment from the Armenian side.

About three years after the last war between the two former Soviet republics, Azerbaijan yesterday began a military operation to conquer the disputed region in the South Caucasus.

According to the Armenians, more than 30 people died and more than 200 were injured.

Today, both sides agreed to a ceasefire brokered by Russia, after which the fighting subsided. The Azerbaijani side agreed to a ceasefire on the condition that Armenian separatist fighters give up resistance and lay down their arms.