Migrants and diasporas from the two sides have brawled around the world in a social media-fueled interethnic clash larger than this conflict has previously seen.
The international response to the clashes – the worst since 2016 – has tended to treat both sides equally, while each side insists that the other is to blame.
The two presidents spoke following the violent breakup of a protest by Azerbaijani labor migrants in Dagestan. Details of a possible diplomatic resolution of the situation have been scant, however.
The labor migrants are trying to return home after losing their jobs in the coronavirus pandemic. Tensions are rising, and a protest on the border has been violently broken up by Russian police.
Even with coronavirus serving as a belated impetus to push through long-stalled reforms, the five members of the Eurasian Economic Union show limited willingness to help each other.