Since the resumption of fighting at the end of September between Azerbaijan and Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh, the death toll "has approached 5,000," Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
"According to our information, the death toll (for each) on both sides is around 2,000, which means that the total number is approaching 5,000 killed," he said at a forum discussion broadcast live on television.
Since September 27, Azerbaijani forces have conquered territories beyond their control since the 1990s. In the wake of the fall of the USSR, a war then claimed 30,000 lives and resulted in the secession of this now populated region. almost exclusively Armenians.
READ ALSO>
Understanding the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan
According to partial reports, these new fights have left nearly 1,000 dead, including around 100 civilians.
But each of the two camps also claim to have killed thousands of adversaries.
An "ethnic clash"
"Today, the conflict is in the worst of its variants", regretted Thursday Vladimir Poutine, whereas Russia is the principal regional power and maintains good relations with the two camps.
The Russian head of state said he was "in permanent contact" with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pachinian.
"We understand that such a situation, when an important part of Azerbaijani territory is lost, cannot continue," he said, referring to a war having its roots in "territorial struggle" and "ethnic clash".
Armenia on Wednesday ruled out any "diplomatic solution" to the conflict, against the backdrop of hitherto unsuccessful efforts by the international community to negotiate a lasting ceasefire.
Two humanitarian truces negotiated recently have gone unheeded.
Newsletter - Most of the news
Every morning, the news seen by Le Parisien
I'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to enable you to receive our news and commercial offers.
Learn more
The heads of the Armenian and Azerbaijani diplomacy are due to meet separately Friday in Washington with their American counterpart, Mike Pompeo.