Azerbaijan, Baku, September 4 / Trend M. Aliyev /
Russia's role, as the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing country and a legal successor of the USSR, must increase while solving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, told reporters on Saturday, the Azerbaijani Parliament Deputy Speaker Ziyafet Askerov told media today.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev paid an official visit to Azerbaijan September 2-3.
Askerov said that President Medvedev once again voiced Russia's position on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in Baku. But he spoke only about the moral obligations. "But I think that the role of Russia as the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing country and a legal successor of the USSR, must increase. It must increase because the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has left from the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union created this problem. But Russia is its successor. So, Moscow has big responsibility in resolving this problem, " deputy speaker said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent 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 negotiations to resolve the dispute.
Armenia has failed to implement U.N. Security Council resolutions stipulating the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions.
Askerov expressed hope that the statements made by Medvedev in Baku will be followed by their practical implementation.