Azernews.Az

BAKU – The Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian presidents will make a decision on basic principles of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement during their meeting in Kazan, Russia on June 25, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman was quoted by RIA Novosti news agency as saying.

"The expectations are great," Alexander Lukashevich told a news briefing Thursday. "It is planned to consider an integral draft of the so-called basic principles of resolving the Nagorno Karabakh conflict at the upcoming summit."

Lukashevich stressed that the wording of the document was agreed upon at the meetings of the three countries' foreign ministers in Moscow in April and June.

"It was possible to bring closer the positions [of the sides] on several key issues during the discussions," he said. "The presidents will consider what has been worked out and pass an appropriate decision."

The West has called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to endorse the basic principles for a conflict settlement drafted in 2007, which stipulate a gradual Armenian withdrawal from the territories around Azerbaijan’s occupied Nagorno Karabakh region and an "interim status" for the region.

Azerbaijan and Armenia waged a brutal war in the early 1990s. About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory, including Nagorno Karabakh, has been under the occupation of the Armenian armed forces since a ceasefire was signed in 1994.