Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov met the Armenian Ambassador to Russia, Vardan Toghanyan, on Friday, October 23, to discuss the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, and stressed the need for urgently withdrawing foreign fighters from the conflict zone.

According to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry, the parties exchanged views in the context of the ongoing escalation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone.

"The unacceptability of the transfer of militants of illegal armed groups from a number of countries of the Middle East and North Africa to the region and the need for their immediate withdrawal was stressed," the statement said.

Azerbaijan, with help from Turkey and Syrian and Libyan mercenaries deployed by Ankara, started a war against Karabakh (Artsakh) in the morning of September 27. The Armenian side has reported deaths and injuries both among the civilian population and the military. Foreign and local journalists too have been injured in Azeri shelling of towns and villages.