Russian President Vladimir Putin has kicked off talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev in Samarkand, RIA Novosti reported.

The meeting is taking place on the margins of the SCO summit amid worsening of the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. On the eve of his talks with Aliyev, Putin discussed the situation by telephone with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who did not attend the summit due to the ongoing events.