ITAR-TASS
Friday 1:56 PM GMT
Russia’s stance on determining Nagorno-Karabakh status through negotiations unchanged
SOLNECHNOGORSK /Moscow Region/ August 9
Russia’s stance on determining the ultimate status of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and resolving the crisis through negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan has remained unchanged, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing held at the Territory of Meanings National Education Youth Forum on Friday.
SOLNECHNOGORSK /Moscow Region/, August 9. /TASS/. Russia’s stance on determining the ultimate status of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and resolving the crisis through negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan has remained unchanged, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing held at the Territory of Meanings National Education Youth Forum on Friday.
"Russia proceeds from the assumption that the ultimate status of Nagorno-Karabakh should be determined through negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. You know our position, it has remained unchanged," she said.
Zakharova noted that Moscow would continue to provide assistance in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis by peaceful means. "For our part, as a Minsk Group co-chair and, considering Moscow’s close relations with Baku and Yerevan, we remain committed to providing assistance in promoting the peace process," she said.
The diplomat pointed out that Moscow was concerned about mutual accusations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. "This rhetoric is not in the interests of creating favorable conditions for the negotiation process and, accordingly, searching for compromise options for resolving the conflict," she explained.
Talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement have been going on since 1992. Russia, the US and France are the co-chairs of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) that acts as a mediator in resolving the crisis.
An agreement on a ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone was reached between Baku and Yerevan on May 12, 1994.
The situation along the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh deteriorated in April 2016. The parties reaffirmed their commitment to normalizing the situation in a trilateral statement approved on June 20, 2016, following meeting between the Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents in St. Petersburg.