MOSCOW (BLOOMBERG) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and France's leader, Mr Emmanuel Macron, called for Azerbaijan and Armenia to halt fighting over land that's been disputed for more than three decades, according to a Kremlin statement.
Combat that erupted on Sunday (Sept 27) around the region of Nagorno-Karabakh has developed into the most intense fighting since a 1990s war. Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev vowed to continue the military campaign until Armenian forces leave the disputed territory, while Armenia has accused Turkey of involvement and asked the international community to help.
"There is no alternative to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis by political and diplomatic methods," the Kremlin said in its statement after the call, which it said was initiated by France.
Mr Putin and Mr Macron said they were ready to make a statement on behalf of the so-called Minsk mediating group, which includes the United States, calling for an end to fighting and a resumption of talks to resolve the conflict.
Armenia's Defence Ministry alleged on Wednesday that Turkish F-16 fighter jets were taking part in operations with Azerbaijani forces over Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey's Defence Ministry said claims that its warplanes and drones were in action against Armenia were untrue.
Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan accused Turkey of direct involvement in the conflict in phone talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, according to a Foreign Ministry statement in Yerevan.
Mr Lavrov, who also spoke separately with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, repeated calls for a ceasefire and said Moscow was willing to organise "relevant contacts" between the two sides.
The deepening conflict in the Caucasus region adds to tensions between Russia and Turkey over proxy conflicts in Syria and Libya. Russia has an army base in Armenia and the two nations have a mutual-defense pact, though it doesn't cover the disputed territory. Azerbaijan, which has close historical and linguistic ties to Turkey, hosted large-scale joint exercises with the Turkish military last month.
Despite decades of mediation to resolve the conflict, fighting has repeatedly broken out since Armenians took control of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts from Azerbaijan in a war after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. The violence is more intense and widespread than at any time since Russia brokered a 1994 ceasefire to halt the war that killed about 30,000 and displaced more than a million people.
The fighting shows little sign of easing, despite a call from the United Nations Security Council earlier in the week for Armenia and Azerbaijan to "immediately stop fighting, de-escalate tensions and return to meaningful negotiations".
China, the US and the European Union have all weighed in with calls for a truce, to little effect.
Mr Lavrov and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell discussed the crisis late on Wednesday, including the need for "parties to the conflict and other countries to show maximum restraint", the Foreign Ministry in Moscow said in a statement.
While Mr Putin has urged a truce, Moscow has held back so far from any intervention in its former Soviet backyard. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has openly backed Azerbaijan.
Turkey's declarations on the conflict are "dangerous", Mr Macron told reporters in Latvia's capital, Riga, on Wednesday. France "won't accept any escalatory message" on the crisis, he said.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday it was concerned by reports that "militants of illegal armed groups" from Syria and Libya were being sent to Nagorno-Karabakh and demanded their immediate withdrawal. Armenia has complained that foreign mercenaries are fighting alongside Azerbaijani troops, while Azerbaijan alleges Kurdish militants have joined Armenian forces.
