Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 22
Trend:
Russia will continue to provide mediation assistance to the peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry told the Moscow-Baku portal.
The Russian ministry said that in the outgoing year, the efforts of mediators, including Russia, were aimed at reducing military risks and restoring direct dialogue between the parties of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
“The tangible result of this work was the holding of an Armenian-Azerbaijani summit in October, at which it was agreed to intensify the negotiation process and take additional measures that help to lower tensions on the line of contact. We welcome the decisions made by the presidents, take an active part in the series of meetings on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement following the summit, including with the participation of foreign ministers, and call on the parties to find effective compromises on the basis of proposals put forward by the mediators,” said the Russian ministry.
Together with other co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia will continue to mediate for the peaceful settlement of this protracted conflict, including during the upcoming January consultations of foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia, according to the ministry.
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 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.