Azernews.Az

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

For Azerbaijan, whose territorial integrity has been violated, Russia's sustainable approach to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution is very important.

The Caucasus has extremely important geopolitical significance for Russia. In strategic terms, Azerbaijan is undoubtedly more significant for Russia than Armenia. Therefore, an early resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be in the interests of both Azerbaijan and Russia.

Russia's position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement has always been characterized by balance, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said at a briefing in Moscow.

She made the remarks about the recent meeting of Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopyrkin with representatives of the organizing committee of the so-called 'Armenia-Karabakh Strategic Alliance' forum.

Zakharova mentioned that these are routine contacts in the framework of communication of the ambassador with the socio-political forces of the host country.

As she noted, the meeting was held with the leaders of Dashnaktsutyun (also known as the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, an Armenian nationalist and socialist political party).

"The meeting and the conversation were initiated by the Armenian side. It covered a wide range of issues, and the Nagorno-Karabakh topic was discussed, although it wasn’t a central one," she said.

Zakharova further stressed that Russian diplomats were not informed that representatives of the organizing committee will come with the leadership of this political movement.

Therefore, she added, this meeting could not have any political component that was attributed to it in the press, and in no way has Russia’s position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict’s settlement changed and it cannot change.

“This position is voiced in Moscow by the state’s leadership, and it is confirmed by Russian ambassadors and diplomats on the ground. It has always been characterized by its balanced approach. Since this topic has raised questions, including in the Azerbaijani media space and from the Azerbaijani side, we informed our Azerbaijani partners as well,” Zakharova concluded.

Russia has always played a very active role in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Along with the U.S. and France is a co-chair country of the OSCE Minsk Group, which spearheads the OSCE’s efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Russia has influence due to the fact that it is not just an intermediary in matters of regulating the Karabakh conflict. Russia has significant potential to provide substantial impact on the course of events in the Caucasus, in particular, on the settlement of the conflict.

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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94

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