Putin has invited representatives of Armenia and Azerbaijan to the Kremlin

Putin made the call at a time when at least 300 people, including 48 civilians, have died in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict since the resumption of intense fighting on September 27.

“The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia say they have been invited to Moscow on October 9,” Putin said in a statement issued by the Kremlin.

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“The Russian president calls for a halt to the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh for humanitarian reasons in order to exchange corpses and prisoners,” the Kremlin added.

Yerevan has so far rejected any talks between key diplomats from the two countries while armed clashes continue.

Previously, the talks took place in Geneva, but they took place behind closed doors without the participation of Armenia.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jehuy Bairamov will meet with diplomats from France, Russia and the United States, the countries that make up the “Minsk Group”, which has been trying to find a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict since the 1990s.

Armenia on Thursday accused Azerbaijan of shooting the Cathedral of the Holy Savior in Shushan Mountain, Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia said the cathedral had been badly damaged and several journalists had been injured.

Nagorno-Karabakh, which was part of the Azerbaijani SSR during the Soviet era, has been a “de facto” independent Armenian republic since the early 1990s. Although Azerbaijan has not controlled Nagorno-Karabakh since the collapse of the USSR, it considers the Armenian region to be its territory. Nagorno-Karabakh is also considered by the international community to be part of Azerbaijan, and no country has recognized the region as an independent state.

Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence in 1991. Its secession from Azerbaijan contributed to the outbreak of war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. About 35,000 people lost their lives in the war, and more than a million people in both countries were forced to flee their homes.