Azerbaijan Armenia Russia
© Sputnik / Russian Foreign Ministry's press serviceRussian, Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers are seen during talks in Moscow, on October 9, 2020.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says the top diplomats of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been invited to take part in peace talks in Moscow on Friday so that a "humanitarian" ceasefire may be agreed in disputed Nagorno-Karabakh.

Putin called on all sides of the conflict to suspend hostilities "for humanitarian reasons" to allow for a prisoner swap and an exchange of bodies of those killed in the skirmishes, the Kremlin said on Thursday. The Russian president previously described the ongoing military face-off in the contested region as a "tragedy."

The foreign ministers of both Armenia and Azerbaijan were invited to participate in "consultations" to further an armistice on Friday, October 9, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will act as a mediator.

The invitation came after Putin held several rounds of calls with both Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

In addition to its attempt to make the warring parties sit down for talks, Russia is involved in mediation efforts as part of the OSCE Minsk Group, tasked with ending the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. On Thursday, the group, which lists Russia, the US, and France as its co-chairs, convened in the Swiss city of Geneva. Moscow is set to host its next meeting on October 12, according to French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian.

The decades-old dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh - an Armenian-populated enclave inside what is internationally recognized as Azerbaijan - flared up on September 27, with Azerbaijan and Armenia accusing each other of being the instigator behind the new bout of heavy fighting. There have been casualties, including civilians, reported on both sides.

"Baku and Yerevan have confirmed their participation in the consultations in Moscow. Active preparations are underway," Maria Zakharova told reporters.

Russia, France, and the US, who are co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) mediation group on Nagorno-Karabakh, have urged both sides to end hostilities and start negotiations.

Armenia & Azerbaijan agree to ceasefire starting SATURDAY

The agreement was reached at the trilateral consultations involving the foreign ministers of the two warring parties, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Lavrov, who acted as a mediator. The negotiations lasted some 10 hours and wrapped up in the early hours of Saturday local time.

Baku and Yerevan agreed to suspend all military actions, starting at noon on Saturday, for "humanitarian" reasons. The pause in fighting will allow for captured prisoners to be swapped and the bodies of soldiers fallen on the frontlines to be exchanged, Lavrov told the media.

The Red Cross will help to facilitate the exchanges.

"The Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia under the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group are starting meaningful negotiations to reach peaceful resolution [of the conflict] based on the basic settlement principles as soon as possible," Russia's top diplomat said.

"Specific parameters of the ceasefire regime will be agreed separately"

The talks were held after both sides accepted Russian President Vladimir Putin's invitation to Moscow. The Russian leader called on Baku and Yerevan to cease hostilities and return to negotiations on Thursday.

The invitation came after Putin held several rounds of calls with both Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Two Russian journalists & their guide injured in shelling of iconic 19th century cathedral in Nagorno-Karabakh

cathedral
© Sputnik
It was the second attack on the Ghazanchetsots cathedral in one day.

Russian military correspondents Yury Kotenok and Levon Arzanov suffered injuries during the Thursday strike on the iconic religious site, located in the town of Shusha, an Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson told Moscow news agency RIA Novosti. He added that the journalists' guide, who is also a Russian citizen, was injured as well.

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© David Ghahramanyan/NKR InfoCenter/PAN Photo/Handout via REUTERS
Kotenok is reported to be in critical condition as local medics continue to fight for his life, following surgery. The two other Russians sustained only minor injuries, media reports suggest.

Footage taken at the scene and obtained by RT's documentary channel, RTD, shows the church and the surrounding area strewn with wreckage and debris. A large hole can also be seen in the building's ceiling.



Courtesy: RT Documentary

A video published by an Armenian broadcaster with ArmNews also reportedly shows the moment when Kotenok was carried out of the cathedral by the locals in the aftermath of the attack.

The head of the Armenian government's information center, Hovhannes Movsisyan, previously confirmed that a Russian journalist was rushed to a hospital in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh's largest city, where he underwent an emergency surgery after being injured in an attack in Shusha.


The shelled Ghazanchetsots cathedral of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Shusha - which is one of the most iconic surviving 19th century Armenian churches - was apparently hit by two attacks in a single day. Armenia's Defense Ministry has accused Azerbaijan of targeting the cathedral, while Baku has rejected the claim and denied that it was behind the attacks. Azerbaijani forces "do not target historic, cultural and especially religious buildings and monuments," the country's defense ministry said.
cathedral
© REUTERS/Stringer