Merkel Calls for Immediate Ceasefire in Azeri-Armenian Clash

(Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, urging the countries’ leaders to urgently restart negotiations.

Merkel spoke on Monday with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to discuss the situation, government spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement on Tuesday.

In an evident appeal to Russia and Turkey, the countries’ “neighbors should contribute to a peaceful solution,” he said.

Read more: Azeri-Armenian Battle Rages as Putin, Erdogan Split on Truce

Fighting between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces reignited at the weekend, and Russia and Turkey have taken sharply different positions on ending the decades-old conflict in the volatile region.

U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, speaking during a trip to Greece on Tuesday, said “both sides must stop the violence” and called for a “return to substantive negotiations as quickly as possible.”

While Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s spokesman urged both sides Monday to “immediately cease” violence and resume talks over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan fully endorsed his ally Azerbaijan’s military campaign.

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