Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry have called for an immediate cease to hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict region.

During a phone conversation, the two officials voiced serious concern at the escalation of the confrontation. The two sides also condemned attempts by certain external players to whip up the standoff. Lavrov also held a phone conversation with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Steinmeier announced that envoys for France, Russia and the US, are to meet in Vienna today (April 5) for talks on the latest fighting.