United States, French and Russian leaders called on Armenia and Azerbaijan on May 26 to move toward a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

"We...are convinced that it is time for the sides in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh to take a decisive step toward a peaceful resolution (of the conflict)," said a joint statement by Presidents Barack Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy and Dmitry Medvedev at the G8 summit in the French resort of Deauville.

"We firmly call on the leaders of the sides to prepare their people for peace, not war," the statement said. "We call on the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia to demonstrate political will and finalize...the basic principles (of a peace agreement) during the forthcoming summit in June."

The Presidents of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan are slated to meet in June in the Russian city of Kazan, the next in a series of trilateral meetings on the frozen conflict, Reuters reported.

Mediators from Russia, the United States and France have led negotiations over the issue but little progress has been made.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, who has ramped up his country's military power with recent arms deals, has said Azerbaijan is willing to go to war to reclaim Nagorno Karabakh.