Moscow talks lift Karabakh truce hopes

Azeri and ethnic Armenian forces fought new clashes in and around Nagorno-Karabakh yesterday, while plans to hold talks in Moscow raised hopes of ending the deadliest battles in the South Caucasus for more than 25 years. 

The Armenian and Azeri foreign ministers were expected to attend the Moscow talks later on Friday, a day after France, Russia and the United States launched a concerted drive for peace at a meeting in Geneva.

"We are moving towards a truce soon even if the situation is still fragile," French President Emmanuel Macron's office said after he spoke to the Armenian and Azeri leaders.

The Armenian government said yesterday's talks would focus on a cessation of hostilities and exchanges of bodies and prisoners of war.

Turkey, a close ally of Azerbaijan, said Ankara also wanted a diplomatic solution but that peace moves would succeed only if they ensured a withdrawal of Armenian forces from Nagorno-Karabakh, where fighting broke out on Sept 27. More than 400 people has been killed since then.