Azerbaijan, Baku, May 31 / Trend E. Tariverdiyeva /
Russia is significant in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement as a mediator, the Russian President's Special Envoy on Relations with the CIS and head of the Federal Agency "Rossotrudnichestvo" Konstantin Kosachev said today.
"Russia does not have its own interests, which would predetermine a particular approach or a particular tendency to some variant of the conflict settlement," Kosachev told media in Baku today.
He said that a solution which will satisfy both parties is an acceptable solution to the conflict settlement for Russia.
"We promote and will promote this in the future," he said. "This process is in the development. This development is not negative. We hope that the progress will not make waiting for a long time."
He said that he discussed the topic of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with the Azerbaijani leadership from this point of view.
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.