Russia looking for new ideas to solve Karabakh conflict

/By AzerNews/

By Laman Sadigova

The Russian foreign minister said his country is making efforts to help the parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh to find a peaceful solution.

"Together, we are looking for new ideas and are holding "brainstorming" on the issue,” Sergey Lavrov said.

There are a number of documents regarding the negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which were prepared by the OSCE Minsk Group’s co-chairs, said Lavrov at a news conference in Moscow on January 26.

There is no document that contains all the nuances for solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Lavrov added.

He said that these documents, which have evolved over several years, now are regarded as the documents on Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.

Since the principle of "all or nothing" is important in this conflict, the mediators and the parties continue to work on finding ways to resolve it, he added.

Azerbaijan has repeatedly stated that the status quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains unacceptable. Russia, which is believed to have essential influence on Armenia, is considered a key in brokering a lasting solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The Nagorno Karabakh conflict appeared in 1988 after Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of internationally recognized Azerbaijani territory in 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and other seven surrounding districts.

Peace talks, mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. through the OSCE Minsk Group, are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles.

Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on withdrawal from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.