Statements of Military Support for Azerbaijan or Armenia Will Only Escalate Conflict, Kremlin Says

Previously, Turkey stated that it is ready to support Baku both on the battlefield and at the negotiating table. At the same time, Ankara stressed that any attack on Azerbaijani territory is also an attack against Turkey.

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to return to negotiations, also stressing that other countries should not to add fuel to the fire amid the clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh.

"The Kremlin, first of all, proceeds from the need for an immediate ceasefire. Any statements about any military support or military activity definitely add fuel to the fire. We are definitely against this and we do not agree with presenting an issue this way", he said.

A T-64 tank of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army on the first line of defense.

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"We call on all countries, especially our partners, such as Turkey, to do everything to convince the opposing sides to cease fire and return to a peaceful settlement of this longstanding conflict via political and diplomatic means", Peskov said.

Both sides have previously accused each other of attacks along the line of control and published numerous photos and videos allegedly showing the destruction of enemy military vehicles.

Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-majority autonomy, proclaimed independence from Azerbaijan in 1991. A major conflict between Baku and Yerevan ravaged the area until 1994 when the sides agreed to start peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group, and Nagorno-Karabakh has remained a breakaway republic since then.

Nagorno-Karabakh remains unrecognised by Armenia or Azerbaijan, but Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has announced that Yerevan may grant formal diplomatic recognition to the republic amid the escalating situation.