Azernews.Az

By Nazrin Gadimova

Russia has been consistently working within international formats to assist in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict’s settlement.

Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for the Russian president made the remark on March 11, TASS reports.

He stressed that the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can be resolved only by the parties of this conflict, but not international mediators. “The final decisions, final initiatives can be put forward only by the parties to the conflict,” Peskov added.

For over two decades, Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in conflict which emerged over Armenia's territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions.

Although diplomats of Russia, the United States and France – the co-chair countries of the mediating Minsk Group – have been brokering for the peace in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, no real breakthrough have been achieved for more than 20 years.

Russia, which enjoys much influence on Armenia, is considered a key party in brokering a lasting solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Lately, Russian leader Vladimir Putin received his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan in Moscow to discuss issues of the mutual interest, including the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement.

Although, during his Moscow talks, Sargsyan voiced Yerevan’s commitment to a peaceful solution of the conflict, the president’s deeds not match his words.

The Armenian side frequently resorts to provocations on the frontline causing losses of life not only among the servicemen, but also among civilians and undermining the peace process.

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Nazrin Gadimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @NazrinGadimova

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