Russian President Vladimir Putin has talked to Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev over the phone and stressed the importance of preventing steps that would escalate tensions on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the Kremlin website reveals.

During the conversation on Wednesday, August 12, the two exchanged ideas "on regional issues in the context of escalation on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border back in July."

Putin and Aliyev also discussed bilateral relations.

The situation on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan escalated on July 12, with Azerbaijan launching several unsuccessful infiltration attempts throughout the next week. The Azerbaijani military also used artillery and combat drones to target civilian homes in several border settlements in Armenia. Five servicemen of the Armenian army were killed, while Azerbaijan reported 12 deaths. In recent weeks, though, the situation has been relatively calm.