Azerbaijan's foreign minister will meet international mediators in the country's conflict with Armenia, Baku said Wednesday, as deadly fighting over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region entered a second week.
The foreign ministry said a Thursday "working visit to Geneva" will see Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov meet leaders of the OSCE's Minsk group, which is jointly chaired by diplomats from France, Russia, and the United States.
Baku and Yerevan have for decades been locked in a simmering conflict over the ethnically Armenian region, which broke away from Azerbaijan in a 1990s war that claimed the lives of some 30,000 people.
Both sides have defied calls for a ceasefire and accused the other of starting the new clashes that began on September 27 and have seen the heaviest fighting since a 1994 ceasefire.
Armenia ruled out the possibility of a meeting between the two countries' foreign ministers in Geneva, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Anna Nagdalyan saying "it is impossible to hold negotiations with one hand and continue military operations with the other."
More than 300 people have been confirmed killed since the clashes erupted, including 48 civilians.
There are fears the fighting could expand into an all-out, multi-front war drawing in regional powers Turkey and Russia.
Armenia and Karabakh have declared martial law and military mobilisation, while Azerbaijan imposed military rule and a curfew in large cities.
Talks to resolve the conflict have largely stalled since the 1994 ceasefire.
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