Russia Invites Armenian, Azeri FMs for Talks on Friday

Russia invited the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan to hold talks in Moscow on Friday, Oct. 10, the Kremlin cited President Vladimir Putin as saying late Thursday.

“Following a series of telephone discussions between the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, the President of Russia calls for a halt to military actions in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” the statement added according to Reuters.

Earlier, Russia’s foreign ministry has said that it was in talks with Azerbaijan and Armenia to organize a possible meeting in Moscow with Russia and the two government’s foreign ministers, the Interfax news agency reported.

'Of course, this is a huge tragedy. People are dying, there are heavy losses on both sides,' Russia's President said during an interview with state-run television.

In the meantime, France, the United States, and Russia will step up efforts to end fighting between Azeri and ethnic Armenian forces in the South Caucasus by holding talks in Geneva, as fears of a regional war grow.

French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian said Russian, French, and US representatives would also meet in Moscow on Monday to look at ways to persuade the warring sides to negotiate a ceasefire.

The three countries are co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) Minsk Group that mediates over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh has continued for a second week (we are now on day 12 of the clashes) as Armenia and Azerbaijan battle over the breakaway region.

So far, the two rivals are ignoring international appeals for a ceasefire and have accused one another of causing civilian and military casualties since clashing on September 27.

Almost 300 people have been reported killed overall, but the real death toll is believed to be higher.