France warned Friday against the risks of an “internationalization” and “out of control” escalation in the conflict over Nagorny Karabakh, as fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia shows no sign of abating.

Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts in a telephone call that a failure to halt the fighting would “bring the risk of an out of control escalation,” his office said.

Armenian and Azerbaijani forces are engaged in the heaviest clashes in years over Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian province that broke away from Azerbaijan during the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s.

The long-simmering conflict erupted on Sunday with the two sides trading heavy fire and blaming each other for the outbreak of violence.

Source: Agencies