Armenia says ready to work with mediators for ceasefire over Nagorno-Karabakh

Russia, France and the United States had jointly appealed the two sides--Armenia and Azerbaijan--to return to negotiations to resolve the long standing dispute.

Armenia on Friday expressed its readiness to work with international mediators to reach a ceasefire with Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, where fierce fighting entered a sixth day.

Protestors wave flags and hold signs outside of an EU summit meeting in Brussels to demonstrate in support of Armenia and against the war in the Nagorno-Karabakh region (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)

The Caucasus neighbours have been locked in a simmering conflict for decades over the region and new fighting that erupted on Sunday has been the heaviest in decades.

In a joint appeal on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron urged the two sides to return to negotiations aimed at resolving the longstanding dispute.

Armenia “stands ready to engage” with France, Russia, and the United states -- which co-chair the OSCE group of mediators to the conflict -- “to re-establish a ceasefire regime,” the foreign ministry in Yerevan said.

Both Armenia and Azerbaijan have previously rejected the possibility of new talks.

Nearly 200 people have been confirmed killed since Sunday, including more than 30 civilians, and there are fears of the fighting expanding into an all-out, multi-front war that could suck in regional powers Turkey and Russia.

Armenia and Karabakh declared martial law and military mobilisation Sunday, while Azerbaijan imposed military rule and a curfew in large cities.

Talks to resolve the conflict have largely stalled since a 1994 ceasefire agreement.