Azernews.Az

MOSCOW – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has made proposals to Azerbaijan and Armenia on settling the Nagorno Karabakh conflict based on the outcomes of talks among the three countries’ leaders held in late June, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

A letter expressing the proposals was delivered to Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday.

"I hope that having studied the proposals reflected in the letter, you will state your positions," Lavrov said in a meeting with President Ilham Aliyev in Baku.

President Medvedev hosted his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts in the Volga city of Kazan on June 24. The leaders of the mediating OSCE Minsk Group’s co-chairing countries - the United States, France and Russia – had urged to finalize a roadmap of a peace agreement during the Kazan summit. But such a document was not signed, and the parties even traded accusations after the meeting.

Regarding Russian-Azerbaijani relations, Lavrov said they are developing, adding that Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov is due to pay an official visit to Moscow in the coming days.

"During the visit, Russia and Azerbaijan will exchange documents on the ratification of the agreement on the state border [delimitation], and a host of decisions will be made aimed at strengthening our foreign policy cooperation," Lavrov said.

Lavrov conveyed the Russian leader’s proposals in a meeting with President Sargsyan in Yerevan earlier on Friday, which was also attended by Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandyan. During the talks, it was stated that the Kazan talks had allowed the conflict parties to draw very close to an agreement.

Sargsyan was quoted by the Russian RIA Novosti news agency as saying that Armenia was interested in resolving the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and establishing lasting peace.

"We want the problem to be solved, and for this to be done so that final peace and stability will indeed reign in the region," Sargsyan said, according to his press service.

He said Yerevan would thoroughly study President Medvedev’s proposals and respond to them in the shortest time possible.

Minister Lavrov, for his part, said the Russian president is "sincerely interested" in the peace process being successful and expressed confidence that "there is every condition" for Azerbaijan and Armenia to reach agreement.

Armenian Foreign Minister Nalbandyan reportedly said that if Azerbaijan "removes its changes" to the Basic Principles, a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs, progress could be made in agreeing the document.

"I think that if Azerbaijan withdraws the ten amendments [from the document] put forward in Kazan, reaching progress may be possible," Nalbandyan was quoted by Novosti Armenia news agency as saying.

The Minsk Group co-chairs are due to visit the region next week. According to US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza, some progress was achieved during the presidents’ meeting in Kazan and, in an effort to further this progress, the mediators are heading to the region to hold talks with the conflict parties. Bryza voiced hope that the co-chairs will manage to maintain the momentum in peace talks.

He added that the date of the visit and its schedule are not known yet.

The Karabakh conflict flared up in 1988 due to Armenia’s territorial claims. Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a fragile cease-fire in 1994. About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory, including Nagorno Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, has been under the occupation of Armenian armed forces since the war that displaced up to a million Azerbaijanis.

The Basic Principles of the conflict settlement that lie at the core of peace talks include the return of the territories surrounding Nagorno Karabakh to Azerbaijani control; determining the final legal status of Nagorno Karabakh; a corridor linking Armenia to the region; and the right of all internally displaced persons to return to their homes.