MOSCOW HOPES TO KEEP KARABAKH SETTLEMENT WITHIN OSCE FRAME – KARASIN

Interfax News Agency
March 20 2008
Russia

Russian State Secretary and Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin
has voiced hope for further Karabakh settlement negotiations between
Yerevan and Baku within the OSCE Minsk Group format.

"We hope that the OSCE Minsk Group will continue to assist the
settlement process. We also hope for the soonest possible meeting
between Armenian and Azeri representatives," he told the media
in Yerevan.

"Any change of format will cause uncertainty. I think this should
hardly happen in such sensitive areas as the peaceful settlement,"
he said.

Russia, the United States and France co-chair the OSCE Minsk Group.

"We want the South Caucasus to be a zone of stability. Russia wishes
friendly relations with all the South Caucasian states. We are ready
to work on that," Karasin said.