Putin, Macron mull Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Russian President Vladimir Putin and France’s Emmanuel Macron have called for an immediate ceasefire between ethnic Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan, as the official death toll passed 100 and the two sides said they would continue fighting.

“Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron called on the warring sides to halt fire completely and as soon as possible, de-escalate tensions and show maximum restraint,” the Kremlin said in a statement early on Thursday.

In a telephone conversation that came at Macron’s initiative, the two leaders discussed “concrete parameters of further cooperation, first and foremost within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

The leaders expressed “readiness” to see a statement made on behalf of the co-chairs of the Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the United States – that would call for an “immediate” end to fighting and start of talks, the Kremlin added.