Astana, Kazakhstan, Aug. 13
By Daniar Mukhtarov - Trend:
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation, the press service of Akorda (Kazakh presidential palace) said Wednesday.
During the conversation, Putin informed Nazarbayev on the results of his meeting in Sochi with the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents on the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
"It was noted that the parties discussed the current difficulties, and drew closer their views on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue," Akorda press service said.
Nazarbayev and Putin also discussed the Western sanctions against Russia, and Russia's response, as well as their possible consequences.
The parties exchanged views on the situation in the south-east of Ukraine as well. They confirmed the possibility of holding a meeting between the Customs Union member countries and Ukraine in late August in accordance with the proposal of the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
At the end of the conversation the presidents discussed several issues of bilateral cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met on August 10 in Sochi in the Russian president's 'Bocharov Ruchei' residence over the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Prior to that, Putin had bilateral meetings with the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents.
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 four U.N. Security Council resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.