TODAY.AZ / Politics

Moscow welcomes any initiative for peace between Azerbaijan, Armenia

03 February 2017 [15:35] - TODAY.AZ

By Azernews


By Rashid Shirinov

Russia welcomes any public initiatives for peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the two parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“Any existing initiative to find peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia may be useful,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova while commenting on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Platform for Peace, initiated by Azerbaijan.

The Armenia-Azerbaijan Platform for Peace was established on December 6, 2016 in Baku, to contribute to the peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Platform for Peace is an initiative of the citizens of Azerbaijan and Armenia, who wish to contribute to the peace process.

“We highly appreciate the role of public diplomacy in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” Zakharova said. “Raising awareness within social circles about the need to peacefully seek mutually acceptable compromise solution to the conflict is the most important mission.”

The spokesperson stressed that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a direct threat to the security and stability of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Recently, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said that Moscow is trying to arrange a meeting of Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian foreign ministers and Baku has already given its consent to this meeting.

Russia is one of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries and in April 2016, the protracted conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh has shown signs of becoming a hot war, while the ceasefire was restored after Moscow’s mediation. 

Last year, the country was a very active mediator to move towards a fair settlement to the problem, while Moscow already vowed to do utmost for the conflict resolution in 2017.

Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in conflict, which emerged over Armenian territorial claims. Since the 1990s war, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal, but they have not been enforced to this day.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/politics/158284.html

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