Canada tells Turkey to stay out of Karabakh conflict
Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said on Friday that he told his Turkish counterpart that Ankara should "stay out" of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, CBC reported.
Speaking to reporters on Friday prior to embarking on a week-long European tour to discuss the ongoing bloodshed in Nagorno-Karabakh and tensions between Greece and Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean, Champagne said he had a "firm conversation" with Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
"The message was very clear that external parties should stay out because it's already a very complex situation," Champagne said.
"We deplore the loss of life and we need to make sure that no one is fuelling the conflict. Quite the opposite, the international community needs to be united in calling the parties back to the negotiating table, [to] respect the ceasefire and protect civilians."
In the early morning of September 27, Azerbaijan launched a massive air and artillery attack on the Artsakh military positions, numerous civilian settlements and infrastructure in the country, including the capital city of Stepanakert, the towns of Martuni, Martakert, Shushi and Hadrut.
Artsakh has reported 20 civilian casualties and hundreds of military casualties. Several foreign and local reporters have also been injured in Artsakh as a result of Azerbaijani attacks.
Both Armenia and Artsakh have declared martial law and a general mobilization.
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