Despite high expectations of a break through at the Kremlin-hosted Karabakh peace talks in Kazan on Friday, the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan couldn't agree on a framework of "basic principles" leading to an eventual settlement.

After three hours of talks the parties reported little progress, according to international news reports.

The Associated Press reports that Azerbaijan's Ilham Aliyev and Armenia's Serzh Sargsyan said they "reached an understanding on a number of issues" but provided no details.

Pressure from the international community in the lead-up to the talks had been significant, urging Yerevan and Baku to end the status-quo after years of seemingly fruitless talks headed by the OSCE Minsk Group.

President Barack Obama spoke to the leaders by telephone on Thursday and urged them to endorse the basic principles and take a "decisive step toward a peaceful settlement."

The so-called basic principles include the return of Armenian-occupied lands surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Baku's control; the right of return for displaced persons; interim status for Nagorno-Karabakh with security and self-governance guarantees; and an agreement to determine the territory's final legal status at some point in the future.