Sputnik News Service
April 9, 2018 Monday 2:10 AM UTC
Parties to Karabakh Conflict Should Put Aside Distrust of Each Other – Lavrov
MOSCOW, April 9 (Sputnik) – The parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should abandon mistrust toward each other in order to move forward in the negotiations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
"The most important thing is to move away from mistrust that still sometimes manifests itself in the negotiations, and to focus on realistic, pragmatic ideas that are in abundance," Lavrov told Armenian TV-channels on Sunday.
He stressed that the work of the 2011 Kazan summit on the conflict could still be used in the matter of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.
"I am sure that much of what is contained in the so-called ‘Kazan document’ is still relevant … Of course, since that time, some new ideas have emerged, which the co-chairs [of the OSCE Minsk Group on Nagorno-Karabakh settlement] are now promoting in contacts with the parties," Lavrov noted.
During the Kazan summit hosted by then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan did not manage to reach a deal to settle the conflict, despite international mediators’ expectations.
The conflict in Armenian-dominated Nagorno-Karabakh started in 1988 with the autonomous region announcing its secession from the Azerbaijan Socialist republic. In 1991, the region proclaimed independence from Azerbaijan and the creation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. This move triggered a military conflict, which led to Baku losing control over the region.
The warring sides agreed to a cessation of hostilities in 1994. The violence escalated again in 2016, leading to multiple casualties on both sides. The sides soon reached a ceasefire but clashes continued.