Erdogan Says Turkey Expects Azerbaijan to ‘Liberate Its Territories’ in Karabakh

"We support the friendly and fraternal Azerbaijan in every way possible and we will continue to do it. This struggle will continue until Karabakh is liberated from occupation," the Turkish leader stated, according to NTV.

Meanwhile, the Turkish president tied the escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh to the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and in Syria.

"If we connect the crises in the Caucasus, in Syria and in the Mediterranean, you will see that this is an attempt to surround Turkey," Erdogan added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan have expressed concerns in their phone call on Friday over reports about the participation of militants from the Middle East in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Putin and Pashinyan "continued discussing the situation in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Both sides expressed serious concern in connection with incoming information about the involvement in hostilities of gunmen from illegal armed units from the Middle East", the Kremlin press service said. The phone call was initiated by Armenia, it added.

Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The area experienced flare-ups of violence in the summer of 2014, in April 2016 and this past July. Azerbaijan and Armenia have imposed martial law and launched mobilization efforts. Both parties to the conflict have reported casualties, among them civilians.