Azerbaijan

The U.S.-brokered truce — the third attempt by outside powers to end hostilities that erupted a month ago — went into effect early Monday. But the two sides quickly accused each other of violating it.

Risks of a wider conflict are too high. The U.S. should use diplomacy to stop the fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan, writes Gen. Philip Breedlove, former NATO supreme commander in Europe.

Each country said the other had promptly violated a humanitarian truce that took effect at midnight on Sunday, as fighting continues over the long-disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The conflict over the disputed territory that broke away more than two decades ago appears to rage on despite the truce brokered by Moscow over the weekend.

Azerbaijan's second-largest city was targeted by missiles on Sunday, government officials say. Armenia denied the charges. The clash is part of a decades-long dispute over territory.

The Kremlin has close relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan. Turkey supports Azerbaijan. "The Turkish factor in this war is obvious and looks extremely threatening," says a Russian political analyst.

Dozens of service members on both sides reportedly have been killed in violence that began Sunday in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. The conflict has the potential to draw in NATO ally Turkey.

Each country is blaming the other for initiating the conflict, which has reportedly left civilians dead on both sides. Armenia has declared martial law and mobilized its military.

Pope Francis reached out to Orthodox Christians and Muslims in Georgia and Azerbaijan, and warned Catholics to stand up against gender theory, which he says is a threat to marriage.

Dozens died this weekend in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, which ethnic Armenian separatists have controlled for two decades. Separatists say they've seen no sign of the promised cease-fire.