Leaders Call for End to Armenia-Azerbaijan War

The presidents of the United States, Russia and France issued a joint statement on Monday calling for a peaceful settlement to the more than 20-year war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Clashes along the Azerbaijan-Armenia border have intensified in recent weeks, with soldiers killed on each side. The renewed fighting, in violation of prior ceasefire agreements, has stirred fears of wider bloodshed and drawn international condemnation.

The statement issued by the three presidents, Barack Obama, Vladimir V. Putin and François Hollande, at the Group of 20 meeting in Mexico, faulted the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for not following steps toward an agreement urged last year. The statement called on them to move swiftly to make “the important decisions necessary to reach a lasting and peaceful settlement.”
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The unity on addressing the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict provided a glimmer of consensus between Mr. Obama and Mr. Putin whose face-to-face meeting on Monday was largely characterized by their disagreement over how to handle the conflict in Syria.