Moscow urges the sides of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to refuse from using force but to show the political will to reach a compromise, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said, RIA Novosti reported.
"Unfortunately, the restoration of the political dialogue is complicated by the worsening situation in the conflict zone, the increased number of casualties, including the civilians,” she said. “We believe that the further escalation is simply unacceptable. We call the sides for refusing from using the force and demonstrating the political will necessary for reaching a compromise."
Zakharova said that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement was thoroughly discussed during Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers’ visit to Moscow in April-May 2015.
"This is also the topic of ongoing contacts among Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his foreign colleagues,” she said. “We are working in this direction in close cooperation with the US and France.”
“Lavrov has recently held a meeting with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen on the sidelines of the 70th session of the UN General Assembly,” she said. “The practical issues of settlement were considered on the eve of the co-chairmen’s forthcoming visit to the region."
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 US are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council’s four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
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