While Putin appealed to the parties to immediately cease hostilities, Steinmeier stressed that there can be no military solution to the conflict.
After the fighting, both sides reported numerous victims and accused each other of breaking the ceasefire. However, who really stands behind the escalation of the frozen conflict, remains unclear.
According to DWN, Azerbaijan has close relations with neighboring Turkey and plays a similarly important geopolitical role for Russia as Ukraine. The conflict thus might have been incited by third parties interested in the destabilization of the situation near Russia's borders.
The newspaper referred to US political expert Zbigniew Brzezinski who said the fate of Azerbaijan is closely connected with the fate of Russia. New violent clashes in the disputed regions could prove dangerous for Moscow especially given the fact that important oil and natural gas pipelines run through the region.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a disputed region in the South Caucasus, which is formally part of Azerbaijan, but largely populated by Armenians. The territory acts as a self-administrating province, but is not recognized as a country by the international community.