He noted that the final decision is up to Yerevan and Baku, adding, however, that without a political settlement between the two countries any military solution to the conflict won’t work.

“Now, not even peacekeepers (should participate in the verification mechanism), but military observers that would be sufficient. We believe that it would be perfectly correct if these were our military observers, but the final word should be with the sides (of the conflict). Of course, we proceed from the fact that both Yerevan and Baku will take into account our amicable relations, relations of strategic partnership”, the minister said, Sputnik reported.

In the meantime, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has noted that peacekeepers might be sent to the area only if Baku and Yerevan both greenlight the decision. He also claimed that Turkey has to participate in the negotiations in some way.

Previously, Yerevan stated that the Azerbaijani military had attacked Armenian military equipment situated on Armenian soil, and that Armenian forces reserved the right to attack any military object on Azerbaijani territory. At the same time, Baku stressed that the destroyed units were targeting Azerbaijani military objects, adding that any strike on Azerbaijani civilian objects will result in retaliation.

The decades-old conflict flared up again on 27 September, when Azerbaijan and Armenia accused each other of carrying out provocations along the line of contact.

Nagorno-Karabakh, or Artsakh, an Armenian-majority region, proclaimed independence from Azerbaijan in 1991 after Baku revoked its autonomous status. The move resulted in a major military conflict between Baku and Yerevan that ravaged the area for two years, claiming at least 40,000 lives. However, in 1994 the sides agreed to start peace talks on the dispute mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group, headed by Russia, the US, and France.

The conflict has since remained frozen, with Nagorno-Karabakh continuing to be an unrecognized state.

Sergei Lavrov said this on Monday, opening negotiations with his Armenian counterpart Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, TASS reported.

“Last Friday and Saturday, at least part of Saturday, we spent here in this building, together with our Azerbaijani counterpart. An important agreement was reached at the initiative of President (Russian Federation Vladimir) Putin. We see that this agreement is not yet fully observed At least the fighting continues,” Lavrov said.

The Russian Foreign Minister expressed hope that Russia’s contacts with Armenia and Azerbaijan would contribute to the full implementation of the agreements on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, agreed on Saturday night in Moscow in a trilateral format.

In remarks on Wednesday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh answered a question about Tehran’s measures in response to the mortar shells that have hit the Islamic Republic of Iran’s soil amid the war between Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan.

He said the Iranian border guards have pursued the case in meetings with the Azeri and Armenian border guards and submitted formal letters of protest over the violation of the Iranian border territories by the two neighbors.

Moreover, the spokesman added, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent official letters to the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia and has voiced the Iranian government’s strong protest at the violation of the country’s territorial integrity, the harm to security, and the financial damages inflicted on the Iranian citizens after shells and rockets fired in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict hit Iran.

The Islamic Republic of Iran would by no means show any consideration when it comes to the security of the Iranian nationals, Khatibzadeh said, adding, “We have called on the two sides (Azerbaijan and Armenia) to respect the Islamic Republic of Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in light of friendly ties and the principles of good neighborliness, and take all necessary measures and security precautions to prevent a recurrence of such unacceptable incidents.”

On Tuesday, Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami cautioned the warring parties in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that Tehran will take measures stronger than warnings if the shells fired in the fighting continue to hit Iranian territories.

A few days ago, mortar shells fired by the warring sides in the fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan hit border rural areas in the Iran’s northwestern province of East Azarbaijan.

According to reports, one of the mortars has fallen in a village in Khoda Afrin county, injuring a 6-year-old child.

In an interview with Russia’s Sputnik news agency, Assad also said militants from Syria were being deployed to the conflict area, the Middle East Monitor reported.

“He (Erdogan) … was the main instigator and the initiator of the recent conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh between Azerbaijan and Armenia,” Assad said. “Damascus can confirm this.”

“They used the same method in Libya; they used Syrian terrorists in Libya, maybe with other nationalities. So, it’s self-evident and very probable that they are using that method in Nagorno-Karabakh because as I said earlier, they are the ones who started this problem, this conflict; they encouraged this conflict. They want to achieve something and they’re going to use the same method,” the Syrian president added.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on October 3 that at least 64 Turkish-backed Syrian militants had been killed in clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The Britain-based war monitor said they were among the 1,200 combatants from pro-Ankara Takfiri groups that Turkey has sent to fight on the Azerbaijani side.

At least 36 of them have been killed in clashes in the past 48 hours alone, the Observatory added, increasing a previous toll of 28 to 64.

Late last month, British daily newspaper The Guardian, citing three men living in the last militant-controlled corner of northern Syria, reported that Takfiris had signed up to work for a private Turkish security company as border guards in Azerbaijan.

They added that the militants expected to travel over the border to Turkey before being flown to Azerbaijan.

Reuters news agency, citing the account of two unnamed Syrian militants, also reported on September 28 that they were deploying to Azerbaijan to fight in the ongoing clashes with Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia’s Ambassador to Moscow Vardan Toghanyan likewise said last month that Turkey had sent around 4,000 Syrian militants who were active on the Azerbaijani side in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan has strongly denied claims that any Syrian militants were among its ranks.

Speaking at a weekly press conference on Monday, Saeed Khatibzadeh said Iran has formulated a plan within the framework of the principles that it has maintained since the outbreak of fighting between its neighbors.

Highlighting Iran’s good relations with both parties involved in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, he said Tehran has tried to stay in contact with Baku, Yerevan, and other regional actors to end the war.

There is no military solution to the decades-old dispute between Baku and Yerevan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, he added, stressing that the two sides must stop armed clashes immediately and begin scheduled political talks.

“We hope that both sides would refrain from continuing the war and violence,” he added.

The spokesman noted that Iran is monitoring the developments near its northwestern border carefully and sensitively, adding, “Iran cannot tolerate clashes near its border, particularly violation of its border.”

Khatibzadeh also stressed that Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity should be respected and the occupied territories should be evacuated following a flare-up of tensions in the disputed region.

Iran has made it clear that the fundamental principle in the conflict is that civilians should be protected, the spokesman underlined, saying it is unacceptable for Tehran to see any harm to ordinary people in the war.

He called for collective efforts to end the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have exchanged heavy rocket and artillery fire, with each side accusing the other of targeting civilian areas as the fighting over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh intensified.

Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said on Sunday one civilian was killed and four wounded in an Armenian rocket attack on its second city of Ganja, and Baku threatened to retaliate by destroying military targets inside Armenia.