Moscow, Apr 6 (IANS): Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and his Armenian counterpart Hovik Abrahamyan have expressed concern over the outbreak of hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, the Russian government website said on Wednesday.

The two prime ministers over phone on Tuesday discussed the situation in the disputed region, with Medvedev stressing the need to ensure a strict implementation of the ceasefire and the resumption of efforts to seek a political settlement, Xinhua reported.

The two also discussed Medvedev's upcoming visit to Armenia on April 7-8, during which he will attend a meeting of the Intergovernmental Council of the Eurasian Economic Union, the statement on the website said.

The violence in Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway region of Azerbaijan with a predominantly Armenian population, erupted on Friday night.

The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry on Tuesday said Azerbaijani forces killed 70 Armenian soldiers and destroyed 20 armoured vehicles on Monday and Tuesday, while at least 16 Azerbaijani troops were killed.

Baku and Yerevan have accused each other of provoking hostilities and conflicts.

Following the three days of fighting, the conflicting sides agreed on a ceasefire that came into force at noon on Tuesday.