U.S., France, Russia Issue Statement On Nagorno-Karabakh

The United States, France, and Russia have issued a joint statement calling on Armenia and Azerbaijan to take "decisive steps" to resolve the long-running conflict over the Azerbaijani separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The statement, issued at the G20 summit in Mexico, expressed regret that the two countries have not responded to the joint statement issued during the 2011 G8 summit in Deauville, France.

The three countries are the co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Minsk Group, which is charged with finding a negotiated settlement.

Also on June 18, the ambassadors of the three Minsk Group countries met in Paris with the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers.

They expressed "deep concern" over the increased violence along the Line of Contact in the region in recent weeks.

With reporting by AFP