Live Updates: NATO Secretary-General Says There's No Military Solution to Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, during a phone conversation with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov, expressed concern over the ongoing hostilities on the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh and the increase in civilian casualties.

"Lavrov expressed serious concern about the ongoing hostilities on the line of contact and the increase in civilian casualties," the ministry said.

The Russian side stressed the need for an early ceasefire, it said.

Lavrov also confirmed his readiness to conduct a meeting in Moscow between the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia with the participation of the Minsk Group co-chairs on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Russia, together with other co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, will continue to promote the resumption of the negotiation process on the basis of the basic principles of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, he added.

US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun told the top diplomats of Armenia and Azerbaijan to immediately agree to a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a readout on Monday.

"Biegun spoke separately today with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jehun Bayramov and Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan to express deep concern over reports of the escalation of military action and expanding theater of operations in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," Ortagus said. "Deputy Secretary Biegun urged the sides to agree to a ceasefire immediately and resume negotiations under the auspices of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs to find a durable resolution to the conflict."

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Monday that the country's army had taken control of three villages in the Jabrayil region and a number of strategic positions on the line of contact in Karabakh.

"Today, the Azerbaijani army liberated the villages of Shikhali Agaly, Saryjaly and Mezre in the Jabrayil region, as well as a number of strategic heights in various directions," Aliyev said on Twitter.

The defence army of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) withdrew its troops in some areas of the contact line in order to prevent unnecessary casualties and increase the damage to the Azerbaijani side, NKR President's spokesman Vahram Poghosyan said.

"Based on tactical considerations, the Defense Army withdrew troops in some parts of the contact line in order to avoid unnecessary casualties and cause more damage to the enemy," Poghosyan wrote on Facebook.

According to the official, the Karabakh forces achieved their goal on both tracks.

UPDATE: Stepanakert undergoes intensive shelling, reports the Armenian Defense Ministry#SputnikUpdates https://t.co/JBl01xIpnH pic.twitter.com/n1OnFkNsvv

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) October 5, 2020

Two more explosions have been heard in Stepanakert, the capital of the unrecognised republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

The authorities have turned on the warning siren, for about the last half an hour.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that relations between Baku and Moscow are at a high level, and Russia's position on the current situation in Karabakh is "responsible."

"Today, cooperation with Russia on many platforms is at a very high level. We treat each other as a strategic partner, which is reflected in the signed documents. In this case, Russia shows itself as a large and responsible country. Its messages are positive, its statements are restrained," Aliyev said in an interview with Turkish broadcaster TRT Haber.

According to Aliyev, Armenia pursues the goal of involving Russia in this conflict.

"Armenia is striking Azerbaijan from the territory of Armenia itself to provoke our strike at the territory of Armenia in response, so that Armenia, in turn, turns to the CSTO for help, in particular to Russia," Aliyev said.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan urged conscripts, who had been demobilized over the past year, to re-enroll in the army due to the escalation of tensions in Karabakh.

"I want to appeal to our guys demobilized over the past year to come to the central military registration and enlistment office and enroll in the army," Pashinyan said in a video message on Facebook.

According to the prime minister, he called on those demobilized to come as volunteers, since the law does not allow this category to be included in the mobilization reserve. The prime minister said that he was calling them not to a simple service, but to the battle "between life and death," saying that he was confident of victory.

"If someone has a military uniform or helmets, take them with you," Pashinyan said.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that he hoped for reconciliation of the peoples of Azerbaijan and Armenia after the settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

"There are examples of how Armenians and Azerbaijanis work, live in various cities of the world ... I have repeatedly said that we had no problems with the Armenian people. I hope that after the conflict is resolved, our peoples will make peace," Aliyev said in an interview with Turkish broadcaster TRT Haber.

Armenian Defense Minister David Tonoyan discussed on Monday the escalation in the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic with US Ambassador to Yerevan Lynne Tracy, the Armenian Defense Ministry said.

"Tonoyan briefed the ambassador on the combat operations, pointing to the unprecedented direct involvement of Turkey and its support for the Azerbaijani side. He stressed that further development at this pace would be a catastrophe for the whole region," the Armenian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

According to the ministry, Tracy expressed concerns over the humanitarian problems remaining unsolved amid clashes.

Tononyan noted that humanitarian issues were not properly addressed due to Baku's lack of interest, the Armenian Defense Ministry added.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told Turkey's TRT Haber broadcaster that Turkey, as a key regional player, should be engaged in the settlement of the ongoing conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

"Turkey should certainly be part of the further peaceful settlement process. Turkey is an important regional player, it is a neighbor for Azerbaijan and Armenia. I believe Turkey will play a very important role in the further peace process, which will certainly enfold," Aliyev stressed.

The Azerbaijani leader stressed that a ceasefire in Karabakh was only possible after "Armenian troops withdrawal."

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed hope on Monday that Turkey would use its influence to calm tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh.

"We are deeply concerned by the escalation of hostilities, urge sides to immediately cease fighting and find a way forward towards a peaceful resolution. And I expect Turkey to use its considerable influence to calm tensions," Stoltenberg said at a briefing.

Moscow constantly maintains high-level contact with Azerbaijan and Turkey on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, and phone conversations between heads of the state depend on their working schedules, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

"It depends on the working schedules of the presidents, and on the expediency. You know, this does not mean that the Russian side faces any lack of working contacts," Peskov told reporters when asked why Russian President Vladimir Putin had not held a single phone conversation with his Turkish and Azerbaijani counterparts since the onset of the escalation in Karabakh, despite holding three conversations with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov maintains a dialogue with his counterparts from Azerbaijan and Turkey, the Kremlin spokesman noted.

"So, Russia maintains high-level dialogue on the Karabakh conflict with both Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia," Peskov stressed.

One civilian was killed and three others were hospitalized as a result of the Armenian armed forces' shelling of Azerbaijani settlements located along the contact line in Karabakh, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office said on Monday.

"As as a result of a heavy artillery shelling that the enemy's armed forces conducted on territories where Azerbaijan's civilians live compactly, as projectiles hit central streets and locations close to Barda's central hospital, Mekhdieva Shakhriyar Isa gyzy was killed, and three persons sustained injuries of various degrees of severity and were hospitalized," the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office said in a statement, adding that a criminal probe was launched.

Significant damage was done to Azerbaijan's civilian infrastructure, the statement read on.

A total of 93 mercenaries from Syria were killed in Nagorno-Karabakh, and 53 bodies were already delivered to the Arab country, a source in the Syrian opposition told Sputnik on Monday.

"Yesterday, on Sunday, bodies of 53 mercenaries were delivered to Syria... This means, the total number of killed Syrian mercenaries has reached 93," the source said.

According to the source, 430 Syrian mercenaries departed to the combat zone in Karabakh over the weekend.

Another source in the Syrian opposition told Sputnik earlier that 322 "well-equipped" Syrian mercenaries were in Karabakh, as of 1 October.

The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry claimed on Monday that Ganja, the country's second-largest city, was being shelled from Armenia's Berd region.

JUST IN: Air raid sirens and sounds of explosions are heard in Stepanakert, a Sputnik correspondent reports #SputnikUpdates https://t.co/JBl01xIpnH pic.twitter.com/3YcrQ1f5Pk

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) October 5, 2020

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) told Sputnik on Monday it had received Armenia's request to implement interim measures against Turkey over its role in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The ECHR specified that the request was based on Rule 39, which covers "urgent measures which, according to the Court’s well-established practice, apply only where there is an imminent risk of irreparable harm."

Shortly after dozens of purported artillery strikes hit Stepanakert, press secretary of NKR leader Vahram Poghosyan stated that the Defence Army’s response will not be long in coming.

At the same time, the official noted that unlike Baku, the Armenian Armed Forces are aimed not at the civilian population, but at military facilities deployed in large cities.

"We once again urge the civilian population living in these cities to leave their homes immediately to avoid possible casualties", Poghosyan said.

"The enemy has resumed its offensive in the southern direction of the Artsakh [Karabakh] front line. Fierce fighting is ongoing. Units of the [Karabakh] Defence Army are engaged in a considerable counterattack on the enemy forces," the Armenian Defense Ministry's spokeswoman, Shushan Stepanyan, wrote on Facebook.

About 20 more artillery strikes have been inflicted upon the capital of the unrecognised Nagorno-Karabakh Republic - Stepanakert, a Sputnik correspondent reports.

The explosions sounded close to the city centre. According to the correspondent, there were artillery shells from multiple rocket launchers.

The NKR Foreign Ministry has reported that "at the moment the Azerbaijani Armed Forces are carrying out high-intensity missile strikes on Stepanakert”.

MORE: The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry has reported that the country’s air defences recorded the launch of missiles on Azerbaijani territories from positions inside Armenia pic.twitter.com/Jj9JBM84Ym

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) October 5, 2020

The press secretary of the Armenian Defence Ministry Shushan Stepanyan on Monday said that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces are shelling the capital of the unrecognised Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Stepanakert, with rockets with great intensity.

"At the moment, the enemy is launching missile strikes on Stepanakert with great intensity”, Stepanyan wrote on Facebook.

Most foreign journalists left Stepanakert, the capital of the unrecognised Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), after the shelling of the city began.

International journalists have mainly been relocated to the city of Goris in the south of Armenia near the border with the NKR. Armenian authorities have promised to establish a press centre there.

However, some journalists still remain in Stepanakert, they almost never leave the city, documenting the destruction caused by the shelling. There are Armenian, Russian, French, Spanish, and Estonian journalists among those who chose to stay.

"The situation in the zone of the Karabakh conflict was stable, but tense at night. The enemy is preparing to launch an attack", the Karabakh defence forces said.

Four minor blasts were heard on Monday morning outside the capital of the unrecognised Republic of Artsakh (Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh), a Sputnik correspondent reports.

Local residents in Stepanakert hid in the basements. It is unclear where the shells landed exactly.