Azerbaijan announced a unilateral cease-fire Sunday in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh after clashes with Armenian forces left 30 soldiers dead Saturday and both sides reported more fighting overnight.
The outbreak of violence is the worst in Nagorno-Karabakh since 1994 when Armenia and Azerbaijan ended a war over the territory that is part of Azerbaijan but has been under the control of Armenian forces.
The two sides are separated by a demilitarized buffer zone, but each side accuses the other of numerous violations.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office quoted him Sunday saying he will support ally Azerbaijan "to the end" in its dispute with Armenia. He made the comments to an Azerbaijani reporter during his visit to the United States.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993.
The two countries have their own ongoing rift over the World War One killings of Armenians that Armenia said included 1.5 million dead in a genocide, while Turkey says the figure is inflated and was not genocide.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier all called for restraint in Nagorno-Karabakh.
