Azernews.Az

BAKU – Russia is ready to do its utmost to reach progress in settling the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh, a Russian Foreign Ministry official has said.

"We are ready to do everything possible, but progress depends on the will of the parties [to the conflict]," Andrei Kelin told the Baku-based ANS TV channel. "We believe that maximum attempts should be made now for a peaceful settlement of the conflict."

Kelin said extensive preparations are underway for the June 25 meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders to be hosted by the Russian president in Kazan.

The summit, which is the next in a series of trilateral meetings on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, will be held on the sidelines of the annual horse race named after the Russian president.

20 percent of Azerbaijani territory, including Nagorno Karabakh and seven surrounding regions, has been occupied by Armenian armed forces since a war in the early 1990s.

Turkey’s ambassador to Azerbaijan has said his country expects good results from the presidential meeting.

"Ankara wants a decision on the conflict settlement to be adopted in Kazan," Hulusi Kilic said. "If we resolve this problem, other problems in the region will be solved as well, and the Turkey-Armenia border will be reopened."

Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey, Azerbaijan’s ally, have been broken and the border between the two countries has been shut since 1993.