The Azerbaijani president announced Sunday that he does not intend to launch a military attack on the territory of Armenia, at a time when Russia clarified when it must intervene militarily in the ongoing battles between the two sides.
The Azerbaijani presidency quoted President Ilham Aliyev as saying during a meeting in Baku with the Turkish Foreign Minister, that "Azerbaijan is conducting military operations on its territory and does not intend to carry out such operations on Armenian lands."
The Azerbaijani president’s clarification came after Russia showed its willingness to support Armenia if the battles spread to its territory.
On Saturday, Armenian Foreign Minister Nikol Pashinyan asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to start "urgent" consultations on the possibility of providing Russian security assistance to Yerevan, based on the Collective Security Treaty that binds the two countries.
In a letter to the Russian President, Pashinyan confirmed that the battles are approaching the borders of Armenia, and again accused Turkey of supporting Azerbaijan.
Russia responded, expressing its willingness to provide "necessary assistance" if the fighting affects the Armenian lands, as the defense treaty does not include the Nagorno Karabakh region.
On Sunday, the Azerbaijani president considered that Armenia "recognizes its defeat" by requesting assistance from Moscow.
For his part, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stressed the position expressed by Turkish President Recep Erdogan, as "he believes that it is not acceptable for Baku to remain alone," according to what the Azerbaijani presidency quoted the minister as saying.
Cavusoglu explained that the Turkish Defense Minister and other officials are supposed to visit Azerbaijan as well.
Armenia's request fueled fears of a military escalation and the involvement of Russia and Turkey in this long-standing dispute over Nagorny Karabakh.
Renewal of support
"We are again in Baku with our brothers to renew our strong support for dear Azerbaijan, and to exchange views on recent developments in Nagorny Karabakh," Cavusoglu wrote in a tweet.
Çavuşolu expressed his pride in the field success of the Azerbaijani army in the march to liberate its lands.
He stressed that Azerbaijan showed its maturity to the whole world regarding the ceasefire issue, despite its superiority in the field and at the dialogue table.
The Turkish minister referred to Armenia's violation of the ceasefire, stressing that Turkey would continue its strong solidarity with Azerbaijan towards these violations.
Since 27 September, violent battles have continued between the Azerbaijani forces and the Nagorno Karabakh separatists supported by Armenia.
So far, the two sides announced 3 humanitarian truces, but they all failed.