With the renewed fighting in Karabakh, the European Union calls on Azerbaijan and Armenia to negotiate, and Turkey proposes four-way talks

The European Union called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to put an end to all hostilities in the Nagorno Karabakh region, and to negotiate without preconditions, while Turkey called for "quadripartite" talks involving Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey in order to find a solution to the conflict in the region.

Armenia and Azerbaijan exchanged accusations of violating a humanitarian truce that was reached 4 days ago to end the conflict over the Nagorno Karabakh region, this comes amid fears of a humanitarian crisis and despite international calls to return to the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.

The European Union’s foreign policy official, Josep Borrell, expressed during a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, that the European Union called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to strictly adhere to the ceasefire and put an end to all hostilities.

Borrell praised the efforts made by Russia in negotiating a ceasefire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan on October 10, stressing the European Union's support for the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group to resolve the conflict in the region.

On the other hand, Turkey called on Tuesday to organize "quadripartite" talks involving Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey in order to find a solution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin called, during a television interview, for talks with the participation of the four countries to discuss a settlement of the conflict in the separatist region.

He added that since Russia stands with Armenia, and we (that is, Turkey) support Azerbaijan, let us all meet to discuss a settlement of these problems.

Turkey - which has been defending Azerbaijan since the start of the last confrontations on September 27 - considers that the Minsk group has failed to play an effective role in resolving the crisis.

Ankara's call to create a "new mechanism" comes shortly after the Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman announced a new meeting, whose date has not yet been set, with the three countries heading the Minsk Group (France, the United States, and Russia).

Armenia attacks Turkey

This comes as Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said that the two countries should make concessions in any talks on reaching a settlement on the disputed territory.

In statements to Reuters, Pashinyan considered that Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu undermined the ceasefire agreement by inciting Azerbaijan to continue fighting.

The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense said that it is committed to the ceasefire agreement, and that it is preventing Armenian attacks targeting its positions.

The ministry indicated that the Armenian army violated the ceasefire and bombed Tartar, Aghdam, Goran Boy and Agabidi last night, considering that the Armenian forces are committing horrific violations of the humanitarian truce.

"The Azerbaijani forces are not violating the ceasefire for humanitarian reasons," Defense Ministry spokesman Vajiv Dargali said.

Point zero,

Al-Jazeera correspondent from Tartre in Nagorno Karabakh Amer Lavi explained that the situation had returned to point zero, as dozens of shells fell on the Tartar area, amid an intense exchange of fire.

Lavi indicated that the situation on the battle fronts is volatile, noting that the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense confirmed its control over the city of Hadrot, and broadcast pictures from inside the town.

He pointed out that the Azerbaijani military sources said that the area had been subjected to intense attacks by the Armenian army, confirming that those attacks had been repelled and that many soldiers were caught in an ambush.

On the other hand, the Armenian military forces denied this account, confirming that the battles are still taking place, according to what was reported by Al-Jazeera correspondent in the city of Goris in the vicinity of Nagorno Karabakh Amin Dargami.

According to Armenian military sources, the Azerbaijani army renewed its bombardment on Tuesday morning on the southeastern axis of the disputed region.

It added that its forces repelled attacks by the Azeri forces on the northeastern axis of the region last night, and this comes as the authorities of the Nagorno Karabakh region said that the death toll rose to 31.

Under international law, the Nagorno Karabakh region is part of Azerbaijan, but the Armenians - who make up the vast majority of its population - reject Baku rule.

The region has been running its own affairs with the support of Armenia since it split from Azerbaijan during a conflict that erupted when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.