Azerbaijani President Aliyev asked for an apology after his French counterpart Macron claimed that "Syrian rebels are fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh".

"There are no mercenaries here. We have an army of 100,000. I ask the French side to apologize and show responsibility," Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview on October 4.

French President Emmanuel Macron said last week "gunmen from Syrian rebel groups transited in Turkey to fight in Nagorno-Karabakh", where the military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan occurred.

Armenia also accused Turkey of sending mercenaries to aid allies in the Azerbaijani conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijani officials denied the use of foreign mercenaries and asserted that the army of this country was capable of "liberating occupied lands".

Conflict around the Nagorno-Karabakh region broke out in 1988, escalating into full-blown war in 1992-1994, killing more than 40,000 soldiers and civilians on both sides.

The fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan broke out on September 27, which is considered the most intense in many years.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a province in southwestern Azerbaijan, but the majority of the local population is Armenians who always seek to secede from Azerbaijan to annex with Armenia.