Moscow - The presidents of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in light of the recent war in Georgia.

A declaration on calming the situation in the south Caucasus was signed by the presidents of the three countries Sunday in Moscow, the Interfax news agency cited the Kremlin as saying.

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev had invited Armenian President Serge Sarkisian and Azerbaijani colleague Ilkham Aliyev to Moscow for negotiations over the issue.

According to the declaration, it was incumbent upon the parties to follow international law in finding a solution to the conflict between Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the breakaway region of Nagorno- Karabakh following the August war in Georgia over its regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Nagorno-Karabakh, which like South Ossetia and Abkhazia is seeking independence, has throughout the 20th century been claimed by both Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The conflict broke out in 1988 when the Nagorno-Karabakh, inhabited mainly by ethnic Armenians, pulled out of the Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan. The region saw bloody conflicts between ethnic Armenians and Azerbaijanis when the entity declared itself a republic and Azerbaijan lost control over the region.

A fragile ceasefire has been in place since 1994. The so-called Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has been acting as a moderator in the conflict, and the three presidents on Sunday agreed a close cooperation with the Minsk Group. dpa