Armenia PM slams Turkey over Azerbaijan conflict

Armenia's Prime Minister on Tuesday accused Turkey and Azerbaijan of a joint "international terrorist attack" on the Nagorno-Karabakh region - an area of land inside Azerbaijan but controlled by ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian government.

Conflict erupted between Azerbaijan and Armenia on September 27 over control of the region, plunging the area into a crisis.

Turkey has backed Azerbaijan’s demand for Armenia’s withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh as a precondition for any ceasefire, and has expressed a desire to be present in any negotiations between the warring nations.

But speaking to U.K. broadcaster Sky, Armenia's PM Nikol Nikol Pashinian said he would not accept peace talks if Turkey was part of them.

"It is absolutely not inflammatory language when I say that this (Turkey's support of Azerbaijan) is Turkey's policy to continue the Armenian genocide," Nikol Pashinian  said.

He also claimed that Azerbaijan "initiated an attack" on the Nagorno-Karabakh region, something he believes is "impermissible" in the eyes of the international community.

Nagorno-Karabakh officials said about 220 soldiers and at least 21 civilians have died in the fighting.

Azerbaijani authorities haven't reported military casualties but said 27 civilians have been killed.

Both sides have accused each other of expanding the hostilities onto their territory beyond Nagorno-Karabakh.

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(Representative Image)