Russia and Turkey disagree on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and they need to find compromises, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.

"Erdoğan may seem tough but he is a flexible politician and a reliable partner for Russia," he added.

Putin added that he hopes the U.S. will help Russia broker a solution to the tensions in the Caucasus.

The Russian president said Moscow believes that nearly 5,000 people had been killed in fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenian separatists over the illegally occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region.

"There are a lot of casualties from both sides, more than 2,000 from each side," Putin told a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club.

Nagorno-Karabakh said 874 of its military personnel had been killed since Sept. 27.

Azerbaijan says 61 civilians have been killed and 291 wounded but has not disclosed its military casualties.

Russia has brokered two cease-fires since Sept. 27 when the new clashes first broke out, but neither has held.

In two missile attacks on Ganja, a major Azerbaijani city far from the front line, Armenia killed some two dozen civilians, including children, and injured many more.

Last Thursday, Armenia also targeted civilians at a cemetery in the western city of Tartar, killing four and injuring four others.