Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept.26
By Huseyn Veliyev - Trend:
The Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a very painful issue and Russia is interested in the settlement of this conflict in the shortest possible time, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia Vladimir Zhirinovsky said in Baku on Sept.26.
The Russian politician, who is on a first visit to Azerbaijan, made the remarks while speaking before the students of the Baku Slavic University.
He said the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be resolved at the level of the heads of states, adding that the settlement of the conflict will be beneficial both for Azerbaijanis and Armenians.
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 two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Zhirinovsky said the Russian-Azerbaijani relations are at a very good level and the two countries have potential to develop these ties in various spheres.
He said Russia could triple its purchases of goods from Azerbaijan.