Azerbaijan, Baku, April 9 / Trend M. Aliyev /
The Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian parliaments can contribute to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, head of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, Valentina Matvienko, who is on an official visit to Azerbaijan, said.
"We should focus on organising the contacts, meetings of intellectuals and cultural figures of the three countries," Matvienko told the media in Baku today. "Our goal is to create an atmosphere of trust. It will be difficult to find a practical solution to this problem without strengthening confidence."
As a co-chair country of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia makes all the necessary efforts to find a solution to this problem, she said.
Matvienko recalled that several tripartite meetings have been held between the Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian presidents at the initiative of President Medvedev. The formats of a mutually acceptable solution have been discussed.
"This problem has no quick solution," she said. "It is not easy, it is difficult, but we are acting strictly within the UN resolutions on this issue. We follow international law."
She added that the potential of the OSCE Minsk Group has not been exhausted. It gives the opportunity to continue this work. "Russia has played and will continue playing an active role as a mediator in finding mutually acceptable solutions. The good will from both sides and the search for a peaceful solution are required."
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia 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.