Russian, US and French Presidents Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron issued a joint statement in which they strongly condemned the escalation of violence “taking place on the contact line in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone” and called for an immediate ceasefire.

The statement was published on the Kremlin website.

“We mourn the victims and express our condolences to the families of those killed and wounded.

We call for an immediate cessation of hostilities between the armed forces of the parties involved, ”the statement said.

The leaders of the countries called on the leadership of Armenia and Azerbaijan to immediately undertake commitments "in good faith and without setting preconditions" to resume negotiations on the essence of the settlement with the assistance of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

Emmanuel Macron, arriving at the EU summit in Brussels, said that he agreed to exchange all information on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh with Putin and Trump in order to draw "the necessary conclusions."

“As members of the OSCE Minsk Group, we are acting to return the situation to a normal state and a ceasefire without any conditions, as well as a settlement based on negotiations and international law,” TASS quoted him as saying.

Macron added that France "will do everything possible to achieve a quick end to the conflict."

In addition, he said that Paris has "accurate information" about the participation of Syrian militants from Turkey in the hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh, and announced his intention to discuss this issue during the summit.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also commented on reports of Syrian mercenaries, saying that Moscow had this information.

“We have this data.

This information exists and was presented in the media in the form of materials from social networks and relevant publications, but making such a comment, which was published yesterday on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we certainly had our own developments, facts and information, ” she explained.

In addition, Zakharova pointed out that the “bellicose statements and actions” of third parties are irresponsible and can provoke an escalation in the region, which, in turn, can lead to the most unpredictable consequences.

At the same time, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that states that ignore the "occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh" are "two-faced".

“The condition for long-term peace in the Caucasus is the liberation of every piece of the occupied lands of Azerbaijan.

Turkey perceives Azerbaijan through the prism of the “one nation and two states” principle.

We will continue to provide all possible support to the Azerbaijani brothers, ”Anadolu quotes Erdogan.

He also stated that the fighting in the region began with "Armenian shelling" of the villages of Azerbaijan. 

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a telephone conversation with Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, during which the ministers expressed serious concern about the ongoing armed confrontation.

This was reported on the website of the Foreign Ministry.

“The inadmissibility of the involvement of militants of illegal armed groups from other regions in the conflict was emphasized.

The demand for extremely balanced steps was noted in terms of providing political and diplomatic assistance to Baku and Yerevan, ”the ministry said.

Lavrov and Cavusoglu also reaffirmed their readiness to closely coordinate the actions of Russia and Turkey to stabilize the situation.

“On the Russian side, attention was drawn to the efforts undertaken by the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, including the Joint Statement of the Presidents of Russia, the United States and France of October 1, 2020,” the Foreign Ministry noted.

We remind that on September 27 it became known about the resumption of armed clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Both sides accuse each other of escalating the conflict. 

The conflict in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where mainly Armenians live, began to escalate in 1987, when it was part of the Azerbaijan SSR.

In the period from 1991 to 1994, active hostilities took place in the region.

To date, the conflict remains unresolved, and the territory is controlled by the authorities of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.