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Armenia and Azerbaijan have been unable to resolve a territorial dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, a region of Azerbaijan controlled by ethnic Armenians that separated from Azerbaijan during the devastating war in the late 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union. This conflict claimed around 30 thousand. human lives.
The long-running conflict erupted again on September 27, with fierce clashes between the two sides that continue despite international efforts to persuade Baku and Yerevan to agree to a lasting ceasefire.
In recent days, clashes have intensified, with civilian areas being fired again with rockets and shells.
On Saturday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian formally asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to begin talks on security assistance under the defense pacts of the two countries on Saturday.
Receiving Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Baku, Aliyev said that Pashinyan’s request was an “acknowledgment of defeat” and that the treaty should not be applied because Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
“Azerbaijan conducts military operations on its territory and has no military plans for the territory of Armenia,” Aliyev said in his office.
Hundreds of people have died since the new fighting began on September 27.
International attempts to achieve a ceasefire have repeatedly failed.
Aliyev said his country would agree to a ceasefire only if the Armenian separatists stopped attempts to regain territory recently taken back by Azerbaijani forces.
“This is the main reason for more fighting,” he said.
Cavusoglu reiterated Ankara’s support for Azerbaijan, saying that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had told him that it was “unacceptable” to leave Azerbaijan unaided.
The fighting continued into the night from Saturday to Sunday and Sunday morning, the warring parties said.
The Nagorno-Karabakh separatist leadership has accused Azerbaijan of attacking civilian settlements, including the strategic city of Shush.
“In the morning, the enemy forces resumed their offensive,” the Nagorno-Karabakh army said.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, in turn, accused Armenian forces of firing at Azerbaijani troops and civilian settlements on Saturday and Sunday night.
Losses on both sides are reported to have reached more than 1,200 people, but the death toll is estimated to be much higher.
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