Dozens dead in Nagorno-Karabakh clashes as Putin urges ceasefire
Fierce clashes left at least 30 Azerbaijani and Armenian soldiers dead on Saturday as Russia and the West urged an immediate ceasefire after a major escalation in violence over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian said 18 Armenian troops were killed and some 35 wounded in the "largest-scale hostilities" since a 1994 truce ended a war in which Armenian-backed fighters seized the territory from Azerbaijan.
Sarkisian did not specify if the troops were from the forces of unrecognised Karabakh - which claims independence but is backed by Yerevan - or Armenia's army.
Earlier Azerbaijan's defence ministry said that 12 of its soldiers were killed in the clashes and a military helicopter shot down.
The surge in fighting over the disputed territory reportedly also claimed the lives of one Armenian and one Azeri civilian after the arch foes accused each other of unleashing heavy weaponry over the volatile frontline.
Armenia accused Azerbaijan of launching a "massive attack along the Karabakh frontline using tanks, artillery, and helicopters" on Friday night.
Azerbaijan, however, insisted it had counter-attacked after coming under fire from "large-calibre artillery and grenade-launchers".
Azerbaijan defence ministry spokesman Vagif Dargahli said that firing had stopped by Saturday evening but warned that the situation remained highly volatile.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called for an immediate end to fighting along the frontline, the Kremlin said.
"President Putin calls on the parties in the conflict to observe an immediate ceasefire and exercise restraint in order to prevent further casualties," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies.
Moscow has supplied weaponry to both sides in the conflict, but has much closer military and economic ties to Armenia and Yerevan is reliant on Russia's backing.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu held phone talks with their counterparts in Armenia and Azerbaijan to urge a de-escalation in the fighting.
