Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 29
Trend:
Russia is using all available tools to mediate between the sides of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, including the high-level meetings, the Russian foreign ministry said, TASS reported.
"Amid the continuing difficult situation around the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, Russia played an active role in mediating between the sides of the conflict, using all available tools, including the high-level meetings,” the Russian foreign ministry said. “These initiatives were thoroughly discussed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Yerevan in April and Baku in June. The Armenian foreign minister paid an official visit to Moscow in April, while the Azerbaijani foreign minister in May. The initiatives were discussed during these visits."
"In a statement of the heads of the delegations of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries (Russia, US, France) at a meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Belgrade in early December, the sides were urged to reaffirm the commitment to the peaceful settlement of the conflict and continue the work aimed at achieving the comprehensive settlement on the basis of the existing proposals," the ministry said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
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