Azernews.Az

Russia has called on Azerbaijan and Armenia to reach "compromise" to settle their long-standing conflict over Nagorno Karabakh.

"The road to a settlement of the Karabakh conflict lies through reaching compromise between Baku and Yerevan," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich told a news briefing.

He said Russia is more interested in regional stability than the other co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group brokering Karabakh settlement, referring to the United States and France. He noted that President Dmitry Medvedev is personally making an effort to promote dialog between the conflict parties.

"Both the co-chairs and the conflict parties admit Russia’s playing an active and effective role in the negotiations," Lukashevich said. "President Medvedev was personally involved in peace talks at a number of stages, and the text of the conflict settlement principles [the peace outline dubbed the Basic Principles], which constitute the groundwork for the negotiating process, was drafted on his initiative."

Lukashevich noted that peace talks "are not easy", but added that reaching progress is possible if the conflicting sides put forward political will.

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

The Basic Principles include the return of the territories surrounding Nagorno Karabakh to Azerbaijani control; determining the legal status of Nagorno Karabakh; a corridor linking Armenia to the region; and the right of IDPs and refugees to return home.