YEREVAN, October 2./TASS/. In a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan pointed to Turkey’s destabilizing role in the region and its involvement in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the press service of the Armenian Cabinet of Ministers reported on Friday.
"During the telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan once again drew attention to the destabilizing role of Turkey in the region and its involvement in hostilities," it reported.
Earlier, the Kremlin press service said that the phone call had been initiated by the Armenian side. The sides expressed concern over information about the participation of militants from the Middle East in the conflict.
"Putin once again put an emphasis on the need for an immediate cessation of fighting and restart of political-diplomatic efforts towards the settlement of the conflict - in line with the October 1, 2020 statement from the presidents of the countries co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group (Russia, France and the United States)," the Kremlin said.
Tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh
Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in Nagorno-Karabakh. The area experienced flare-ups of violence in the summer of 2014, in April 2016 and this past July. Azerbaijan and Armenia have imposed martial law and launched mobilization efforts. Both parties to the conflict have reported casualties, among them civilians.
In a joint statement on Thursday, Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Donald Trump of the United States and Emmanuel Macron of France called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to end hostilities and to resume talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict without preconditions.
"We call for an immediate cessation of hostilities between the relevant military forces," the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group said in the joint statement.
"We also call on the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to commit without delay to resuming substantive negotiations, in good faith and without preconditions, under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs," the statement said.