⁍ Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces clashed in several parts of Nagorno-Karabakh on Friday.

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⁍ U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met separately with the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia.

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⁍ World powers want to prevent a wider war that draws in Turkey, which has voiced strong support for Azerbaijan.

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– Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Friday with foreign ministers from Azerbaijan and Armenia in an attempt to end fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh that has killed at least 40 people over the last month, the AP reports. Azerbaijan’s defense ministry says ethnic Armenian forces clashed in several parts of Nagorno-Karabakh on Friday. Armenia’s defense ministry also reported fighting in several areas and said the town of Martuni in Nagorno-Karabakh was shelled during the night. Azerbaijan denied this. The breakdown of two Russia-brokered ceasefires has dimmed hopes of a quick end to fighting that broke out on Sept. 27 over Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway territory which is within Azerbaijan but is controlled by ethnic Armenians. A handful of protesters from both sides, holding Armenian and Azeri flags and banners, chanted outside the State Department on Friday. Both ministers held separate meetings with Pompeo that lasted around 30 to 40 minutes. Asked how his talks went, Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan told reporters: ‘Very good’ as he exited the State Department, and added that work on a ceasefire would continue. World powers want to prevent a wider war that draws in Turkey, which has voiced strong support for Azerbaijan, and Russia, which has a defense pact with Armenia. Armenians regard the territory as part of their historic homeland and accuse Azerbaijan of making a land grab in the recent fighting. Azerbaijan forces say they have made territorial gains, including full control over the border with Iran, which Armenia denies.