Azerbaijan's president says "neighbor" Russia is most suitable mediator, Turkey accused of sending terrorists in from Middle East

'We can't wait for another 30 years'

In an interview with Al Jazeera, published on Saturday, Aliyev said that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) group on Nagorno-Karabakh, co-chaired by the US, France and Russia, "has been working for 28 years to mediate a solution, but to no avail."

We are not in a position to listen to statements like 'Stop it, we will work [with you], we will negotiate, we will help.' We have heard this many times. We do not have time to wait for another 30 years. The conflict must be resolved now.

The decades-long dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh - a large Armenian-populated enclave within Azerbaijan - turned violent on September 27, when Armenia and Azerbaijan blamed each other for aggression long the border. Heavy fighting continued throughout the week, with deaths reported among Armenian and Azerbaijani forces, as well as civilian casualties. Several buildings, including a hospital, were damaged during shelling of the disputed region's capital on Friday.

On Thursday, the leaders of Russia, France and the US issued a joint statement, urging for an immediate end to the violence and for both sides to resume talks. Aliyev's office reported that President Macron of France had made a phone call to the Azerbaijani leader on Friday, again urging for a ceasefire and negotiations.

Aliyev, however, told Al Jazeera that talks would be "meaningless" unless Armenia agreed to "the return of the occupied territories to Azerbaijan." The region proclaimed itself independent amid a bloody war in the early 1990s against the backdrop of the breakup of the Soviet Union, and has remained closely allied with Armenia.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, meanwhile, told Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail that "a ceasefire can be established only if Turkey is removed from the South Caucasus," referring to Ankara's strong support for its historical ally Azerbaijan. He also said that "terrorists" from the Middle East are fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh "under Turkey's sponsorship."

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday that "if the situation is not resolved" and Azerbaijan does ask for assistance, Ankara "would not hesitate" to provide it.

President Macron previously said that France has "credible" information that Syrian militants arrived in Nagorno-Karabakh through Turkey. Russia's Foreign Ministry also warned that the deployment of militants from Syria and Libya creates "long-term threats to the security of all countries in the region."

The comments come one day after the Armenian Foreign Ministry said it welcomed a joint call the previous day from the Minsk Group for an immediate cessation of hostilities between forces fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh.

There are concerns that this week's flare-up in violence around the disputed territory could grow into a full-blown war between the archfoes and draw in regional powers Russia and NATO-member Turkey.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on October 3 rejected "superficial" demands for a cease-fire. Such demands "will not be useful this time," Cavusoglu said, according to state-run Anadolu news agency.

Cavusoglu said a day earlier at a news conference in Rome with his Italian counterpart that a cease-fire would be conditional on Armenia's withdrawal.

"As the Azerbaijani president has said, Armenia must withdraw from these territories in order for Azerbaijan to declare a cease-fire," Cavusoglu said. "This is an absolute legitimate call."

Armenia on October 2 accused Azerbaijani forces of striking Nagorno-Karabakh's capital, Stepanakert. RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported that four people were injured but no one was killed.

Shoot-Down Claims

Armenia also claimed it had shot down three Azerbaijani aircraft on October 3. Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry denied the claim, saying "not a single combat aircraft of the Azerbaijani Air Force was shot down."

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said in an address on October 3 that the scale of the attack was unprecedented.

"We are experiencing, perhaps, the most decisive moment in our millennial history," Pashinian said, adding: "Today, more than ever, we are determined to defend our identity, our homeland, our right."

Pashinian said he spoke by phone on October 2 with commanders and other officers who are on the front line. He said about 150 high-ranking Turkish military personnel "are at the command posts of various levels of the armed forces of Azerbaijan and are in charge of military operations."

Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory, but it and a handful of adjoining regions are controlled by ethnic Armenian separatists with close ties to Yerevan.

The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on October 2 and "insisted on the need to immediately stop the hostilities and resume political-diplomatic efforts" to settle the dispute in line with the Minsk Group appeal.

Both men "agreed to continue contacts in various formats," it said.