Russia's Putin, France's Macron call for ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh

Russian President Vladimir Putin and France's Emmanuel Macron called for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces around the Nagorno-Karabakh region following a call, the Kremlin said on Thursday.

The parties discussed future steps the Minsk OSCE group could take to de-escalate the conflict in the region and called for the conflict to be resolved by diplomatic means, the statement said. A French Presidency source said the two presidents shared the same concern regarding Turkey's sending of Syrian fighters in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Russia's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that Syrian and Libyan fighters from illegal armed groups were being sent to the Nagorno-Karabakh region.