AZERBAIJAN’S POSITION REGARDED WITH FAVOR BY OFFICIAL MOSCOW
Azeri Press Agency
13 Aug 2008 15:25
Azerbaijan
Baku. Lachin Sultanova – APA. "We hope that after the recent
developments proper conclusion will be made up in the region and
outside the region, decision satisfying the parties will be made at
the end," asked in what direction the negotiations on South Ossetia
would continue, Russia’s ambassador to Azerbaijan Vasili Istratov
said at the press conference, APA reports. The ambassador said that
there was no alternative to the negotiations and added that the talks
had already been restored.
Asked on what bases 80 percent of South Ossetia’s population became
Russian citizens, the ambassador said Russia’s law on citizenship
made it available for the former citizens of USSR to receive Russian
citizenship after the collapse of USSR.
"Azerbaijani citizens also made use of it," he said.
Asked how many Russian citizens there were in Nagorno Karabakh at
the moment and whether Russia could repeat the operation carried out
against Georgia, in case Azerbaijan wanted to restore its territorial
integrity, the diplomat said he did not know how many Russian citizens
lived in Nagorno Karabakh. The ambassador said Russia had carried out
operations in South Ossetia to protect its citizens and peacekeepers,
noted that Russian citizens lived in any country of the world and
did not want to draw comparison.
Taking a stance on Azerbaijan’s position during Russia-Georgia
confrontation Vasili Istratov said Azerbaijan’s position, as well as
the statements were regarded with favor by official Moscow.