Diplomatic efforts fail to calm Nagorno-Karabakh clash: Live news

16:25 GMT – Efforts to end conflict must take into account Azeri demands: Turkish official

Turkey supports efforts for a peaceful solution to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh as long as they account for Azerbaijan’s legitimate demands, a spokesman for the Turkish presidency said.

“We call on the Minsk Group to come up with a timetable and a new proposal that is actionable, that has specific guidelines to end the current round of hostilities but most importantly also a way to end the occupation of Azeri lands by Armenia, which has been the root cause of this problem,” government spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin told Al Jazeera.

“The Minsk Group, which was established almost 30 years ago, has done very little to bring to an end this frozen conflict in the southern Caucasus. It’s time to come up with a new road map. That’s what the Azeris have been demanding and what we’ve been supporting. Yes to a ceasefire, but a ceasefire must be sustainable.”

“The only way to make it sustainable is to talk about Armenia’s occupation of Azeri lands.”

15:10 GMT – Azerbaijan, Armenia trying to consolidate position ahead of peace talks: Analyst

Matthew Bryza, a former United States ambassador to Azerbaijan and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said the two countries were looking to consolidate their control over disputed territories to enter negotiations from a position of strength.“Armenia’s objective here is to avoid that and to hang on to all the territories if possible and try to rely on Russia and the international community to pressure Azerbaijan to stop its offensive.”

14:55 GMT – Three journalists hurt in Azeri shelling: Karabakh authorities

Three journalists were hurt by Azeri shelling in the town of Shushi in Nagorno-Karabakh – and one of them has been hospitalised and is in a serious condition, authorities in the region said.

The journalist in bad condition was a Russian national who worked as an editor for Segodnya.ru, authorities said. The other two were an Armenian national and an international media journalist who was not immediately identified, they said.

14:30 GMT – Russia says in talks to organise meeting with top Armenia, Azeri officials: Interfax

Russia’s foreign ministry has said that it was in talks with Azerbaijan and Armenia to organise a possible meeting in Moscow with Russia and the two government’s foreign ministers, the Interfax news agency reported.

13:55 GMT – Azerbaijan denies shelling historic cathedral in Nagorno-Karabakh

Azerbaijan has denied its forces had shelled a historic cathedral in Nagorno-Karabakh’s city of Shusha as claimed by Armenia.

“The information about the damage to the church in Shusha has nothing to do with the military actions of the Azerbaijani army,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

“Unlike the armed forces of Armenia … the Azerbaijani army does not target historical, cultural, or especially religious buildings and monuments.”