Iran warns Nagorno-Karabakh could become regional war: Live news

A man walks in the yard of an apartment building damaged by shelling by Azerbaijan's artillery during a military conflict in Stepanakert, self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020 [Dmitri Lovetsky/AP]

Iran warns conflict could flare up into regional war Further casualties among Armenia-backed troops reported Claims of mass displacement amid ongoing clashes 15:15 GMT – France accuses Turkey of ‘military involvement’ in Karabakh France accused Turkey of “military involvement” on the side of Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region. “The new aspect is that there is military involvement by Turkey which risks fuelling the internationalisation of the conflict,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told parliament. Armenia and Azerbaijan, two former Soviet republics, have for decades been locked in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnically Armenian area which broke away from Azerbaijan in a 1990s war that cost about 30,000 lives. 14:40 GMT – Greece recalls ambassador from Azerbaijan Greece’s Foreign Ministry says it is recalling its ambassador to Azerbaijan following what it says are “completely unfounded and insulting allegations” by the Azerbaijani government that it is tolerating the preparation of terrorist acts. In a statement, the ministry said the Greek ambassador had been recalled to Athens for consultations. It said the Azerbaijani government had claimed Greece was tolerating the preparation of terrorist acts, attempts to recruit terrorist fighters and cyberattacks against Azerbaijan due to the latter’s conflict with Armenia over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The ministry said it had filed a protest over the issue on Tuesday with the Azerbaijani ambassador in Greece. 14:01 GMT – France says pushing for Nagorno-Karabakh talks in coming days France’s foreign minister said talks would be held in Geneva on Thursday and Moscow on Monday to try to convince warring sides in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to agree to negotiate a ceasefire. Jean-Yves Le Drian told parliament’s foreign affairs committee that France, Russia and the United States would hold those talks to start a dialogue that needed to take place without preconditions. Good evening. This Usaid Siddiqui in Doha taking over from Farah Najjar and Anealla Safdar. 13:07 GMT – Azerbaijan says Armenia-backed troops targeted a strategic pipeline Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry says Armenian forces attempted to hit a pipeline that goes from its capital to Georgia and Turkey. The international community is concerned about the prospect of an all-out war because Nagorno-Karabakh serves as a corridor for pipelines taking oil and gas to world markets. 12:56 GMT – Armenia PM’s ‘genocide’ warning Armenia PM Nikol Pashinyan, in an interview with the BBC, has defended his country’s presence in Nagorno-Karabakh. Using the Armenian name for the area – Artsakh – Nikol Pashinyan said it was “Armenia, land of Armenians”. He said the region was facing assault from the combined forces of Azerbaijan, Turkey and what he called “terrorists” from Syria. Ankara and Baku have rejected accusations by several heads of state, including Syria’s Assad and France’s Macron, that Syrian fighters were operating in the region. 11:46 GMT – Azerbaijan says ready for talks with Armenia when military conflict ends Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said that his country would return to talks with Armenia after the acute phase of military conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh region ends, Russian news agency TASS cited him as saying. Aliyev, who spoke to Russian President Putin by phone, said in an interview with Russian state television that Turkey had the right to participate in mediation. 10:20 GMT – Putin pledges to continue dialogue with Azerbaijan’s president Russian President Vladimir Putin will continue his dialogue with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict after the two leaders spoke briefly by phone, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Speaking to reporters on a conference call, Peskov said Aliyev had called Putin to congratulate him on his 68th birthday and that the two men had used the opportunity to discuss the conflict. A man takes clothes out of a house damaged by recent shelling during a military conflict over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh [Reuters] 08:32 GMT – Putin renews ceasefire call Russian President Vladimir Putin called for fighting to stop in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, saying the deadliest fighting in more than 25 years between ethnic Armenian and Azeri forces was a tragedy. Speaking in a interview with state television, Putin said he was in constant contact with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan about the conflict. Putin described the fighting as a “tragedy” and said he hoped it would end “in the very near future”. “Of course this is a huge tragedy. People are dying, there are heavy losses on both sides,” he said. 07:36 GMT – Iranian president warns Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict could turn into regional war Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned of the danger of the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict turning into a regional war. “We must be attentive that the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan does not become a regional war. Peace is the basis of our work and we hope to restore stability to the region in a peaceful way,” Rouhani said in televised remarks. He also said Iran would not allow “states to send terrorists to our borders under various pretexts”. 07:32 GMT – Conflict ‘displaces half of Karabakh’s population’ Half of Nagorno-Karabakh’s population have been displaced since fierce fighting erupted more than a week ago between Armenian troops and Azerbaijan, ethnic Armenian officials in the breakaway region said. “According to our preliminary estimates, some 50 percent of Karabakh’s population and 90 percent of women and children – or some 70,000-75,000 people – have been displaced,” Karabakh’s rights ombudsman Artak Beglaryan told AFP news agency. Al Jazeera is attempting to verify Beglaryan’s claim. People stand near their house reportedly damaged by recent shelling in the downtown of Ganja, in Azerbaijan [Aziz Karimov/EPA] 07:30 GMT – Death toll among Armenia-backed troops rises to 280 The defence ministry of the Nagorno-Karabakh region said it had recorded another 40 casualties among its Armenia-backed troops, pushing the military death toll to 280 since fighting with Azeri forces erupted, the Interfax news agency reported.   Good morning. Farah Najjar in Doha and Anealla Safdar in London will be bringing you the latest updates on the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis today, Wednesday, October 7. Here’s a quick recap:  Fighting in Nagorno Karabakh has continued for a second week as Armenia and Azerbaijan clash over the breakaway region. Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said his country could make concessions over the region if Azerbaijan would do the same. 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. Violence periodically flares up in the breakaway region, which is inside Azerbaijan but controlled by ethnic Armenians, but the latest fighting has raised fears of an all-out war erupting.