By  Trend

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will hold substantive discussions on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during bilateral meetings within the OSCE Ministerial Council in Milan Dec. 6-7, Spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said at a press conference on Nov. 30, answering Trend’s question on what is planned for discussion.

“The minister’s speech will cover everything related to the OSCE agenda, and especially those issues in which Russia is directly involved,” said Zakharova. “We will share our assessments. Of course, there will be bilateral meetings as well, and this issue will be discussed substantively during these meetings. Naturally, some specific steps or concrete proposals may be outlined there.”

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 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.