Putin calls on Armenia, Azerbaijan to observe cease-fire

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to ensure a complete cessation of hostilities and observance of cease-fire as fightings tentatively stopped in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, the Kremlin said.

The statement came after Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to a ceasefire on Tuesday after deadly clashes between forces of both sides in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region erupted overnight Saturday, and military operations on their contact line reportedly have been suspended.

In his telephone talks with presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Putin called for resuming negotiation between Baku and Yerevan with the assistance of the OSCE Minsk Group to seek a peaceful settlement of the conflict, the Kremlin said in an online statement.

Putin said that Russia would play an intermediary role in the normalization of the situation, and all sides agreed to keep contacts in different formats, the statement added.

The conflicting parties suspended military operations on the contact line starting from Tuesday, and the Armenian and Azerbaijani defense ministries both confirmed that a cease-fire agreement was being prepared.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a bitter dispute over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh first broke out in 1988, when the enclave dominated by ethnic Armenians claimed independence from Azerbaijan and declared to join Armenia.

Peace talks have been held since 1994 when a ceasefire was reached, but there have been occasional minor clashes.