Russia urges Turkey to support a ceasefire in Karabakh

“We call on all parties, but especially partner countries such as Turkey, to do all they can to achieve a ceasefire and a return to a peaceful solution to the conflict through political and diplomatic means,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“The Russian side is in constant contact with Yerevan, Baku and Ankara at various levels. We are gathering all the information on the line,” a Kremlin spokesman said.

Peskov was also asked to comment on Yerevan’s allegations that Turkey had transferred militants to northern Azerbaijan from Syria.

A Kremlin spokesman said that Russia was closely following all the information that appeared in this regard and that the situation was being analyzed.

“We are using this knowledge to shape our next position and determine the next steps with our OSCE team partners,” a Kremlin spokesman said.

As the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh worsens, Turkey has transferred about 4,000 militants from northern Syria to Azerbaijan, Armenian Ambassador to Russia Vardan Tagonyan told Radio Echo Moscow on Monday.

Turkey is also assisting Azerbaijan in “the organization of engineering infrastructure in the territory of Azerbaijan near the Armenian border,” the diplomat said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlit Chavushoglu said on Tuesday that Turkey was ready to support Azerbaijan “both at the negotiating table and on the battlefield” in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the news agency Anadolu reported.

The Nagorno-Karabakh crisis will be resolved if “Armenia leaves the occupied territory,” the minister said.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on the parties to the Karabakh conflict to cease fire.

Heavy fighting has reportedly begun on the actual border of Nagorno-Karabakh on Sunday morning. Both sides accuse each other of starting war.

Both Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh have declared a state of war and a general mobilization. Azerbaijan has also declared a state of war and a partial mobilization.

There have been hostile relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia since the 1990s, when the war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region was fought.

Nagorno-Karabakh, which was part of the Azerbaijani SSR during the Soviet era, has been a “de facto” independent Armenian republic since the early 1990s. Although Azerbaijan has never controlled Nagorno-Karabakh since the collapse of the USSR, it considers the Armenian region to be its territory. Nagorno-Karabakh is also considered by the international community to be part of Azerbaijan, and no country has recognized the region as an independent state.

Nagorno-Karabakh first declared its independence in 1991. Its secession from Azerbaijan contributed to the outbreak of war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. About 35,000 people lost their lives in the war, and more than a million people in both countries were forced to flee their homes.