European tensions

ARMENIA and Azerbaijan are on the brink of war over the disputed territory of NagornoKarabakh. The violence has claimed the lives of more than 100 civilians and driven thousands more from their homes. It is the most serious conflict between the two former Soviet states since they signed a 1994 ceasefire agreement.

Both sides should heed the United Nations Security Council, which has condemned the violence. They should listen to Secretarygeneral Antonio Guterres, who called on the combatants to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure (as international law requires), cease hostilities and return to meaningful negotiations.

The current flareup threatens to turn into an allout war. Each side has accused the other of unprovoked aggression. Russia and Turkey should avoid adding to the conflict — though that may be wishful thinking, given that both countries are led by authoritarian strongmen who use nationalism to promote their domestic agendas.

The current conflict is a reminder of the consequences of the United States’ diminished role on the world stage. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo has rightly joined his counterparts in France and Russia in calling for a cessation to hostilities, but the United States has less credibility and effectiveness due to the continuing turmoil within the Trump Administration and its shift toward an ‘‘America First’’ foreign policy, which has turned this country profoundly inward. America cannot be the world’s policeman, but its shambolic disengagement from most of the rest of the world has been a terrible blow to the international order.