MFA: Russia to continue giving priority to issue of Karabakh conflict

By  Trend

Russia, in the context of its policy in the South Caucasus region, will continue giving priority to the issue of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said at a press conference, Trend reports Feb. 28.

The terrible, bloody Nagorno-Karabakh conflict brought death and suffering to many innocent people, she said, adding that Russia always considered and continues to consider this a huge tragedy.

“Our country is making significant, very big, decisive efforts to assist the parties in finding a peaceful solution to this conflict,” she noted. “We will continue to give priority attention to this in the context of our policy in this region and approaches to shaping the Russian course in this direction.”

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.