The U.S., the UK and Russia have called for an "immediate" ceasefire in Karabakh even as Turkish President Erdogan said a ceasefire in Nagorno Karabakh was only possible if Armenian forces pull back.

In a statement, French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump said: "We call for an immediate cessation of hostilities between the relevant military forces."

"We also call on the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to commit without delay to resuming substantive negotiations," said the leaders, whose countries are the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk group that has sought a solution to the conflict since the 1990s.

The statement said such talks should be "in good faith and without preconditions" and be held under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

The Minsk group, which was created by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 1992, has, on occasion, overseen summits between Armenian and Azeri leaders but has failed to find any lasting resolution to the conflict.

Armenian and Azerbaijan have been locked for decades in a territorial dispute over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988. Peace talks have been held since 1994 when a ceasefire was reached, but there have been occasional minor clashes along the borders.

Clashes erupted on Sunday was the latest. The two sides blamed each other for sparking fierce conflicts that have since caused nearly 100 confirmed deaths. Deadly fighting had flared in 2016 and earlier this year.

The latest death happened on Tuesday, according to the Armenian side, which accused Turkey of shooting down one of its warplanes and killed its pilot during heavy fighting with Turkey's ally Azerbaijan. 

(With input from AFP)

(Cover: An ethnic Armenian soldier fires an artillery piece during fighting with Azerbaijan's forces in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, September 29, 2020. /Reuters)