BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry says its forces have observed a cease-fire around Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan said Wednesday the cease-fire was agreed in Moscow by top military officers of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The cease-fire, declared at midday Tuesday, followed three days of intense battles involving heavy artillery and rockets.

The Armenian side said Tuesday night that the cease-fire was largely holding despite what it called some sporadic Azerbaijani shelling. Azerbaijan denied the accusation.

Fighting that erupted around the region over the weekend marked the worst violence since a separatist war ended in 1994 and left Nagorno-Karabakh, officially a part of Azerbaijan, under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces and the Armenian military. Armenian forces also occupy several areas outside the Karabakh region.