The new operator plans to start supplies to Ukraine in June. The company's quota stands at more than 100,000 tonnes of diesel fuel and 12,000 tonnes of liquefied gas.

Azerbaijan is ready to provide its oil and gas pipelines for the transit of hydrocarbons from Turkmenistan, Rovnag Abdullayev, the state energy firm SOCAR's president, said.

Is a new armed conflict possible? France's Macron throws weight around.

Russia has deployed several thousand peacekeepers between the sides. Turkey, which was a major factor in helping Azerbaijan reverse its three decades of losses in a 45-day assault, also has officials in the formerly occupied territories of Azerbaijan as part of a joint Russian-Turkish monitoring centre.