Azernews.Az

Seeking a solution to the Garabagh conflict, Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian foreign ministers held a trilateral meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on Friday.
Elmar Mammadyarov, Eduard Nalbandian and Sergei Lavrov focused on resolving the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh dispute, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. The discussions took place on the sidelines of a summit of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) leaders.
Commenting on the outcome of the tripartite talks, Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian said the status of Upper Garabagh, an Azeri region under Armenian occupation, should be determined through "the expression of the nation`s free will."
He further said the three ministers had discussed settling the Garabagh conflict with the OSCE Minsk Group`s mediation and on the basis of the Madrid proposals, which are basic principles submitted to Baku and Yerevan by the mediators late in 2007.
Regarding the main aspects of the peace process, Nalbandian said the status of Upper Garabagh remains the key issue.
Azerbaijani officials have repeatedly said the status issue could be discussed only after Armenia withdraws its armed forces from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan.
Referring to statements by some analysts` that Armenia is facing a predicament in the peace talks, Nalbandian maintained this was "not analysis, but a product of a sick imagination."
Nalbandian added that the negotiating process would intensify after Azerbaijan`s October 15 presidential election.
Meanwhile, Russia, which co-chairs the multi-national Minsk Group along with the U.S. and France, said it was ready to be actively involved in seeking a solution to the Garabagh conflict.
Andrei Nesterenko, the Russian Foreign Ministry`s spokesman, said the situation with a Garabagh settlement is showing no signs of worsening, and efforts continue to find a solution. "Consultations are underway with all parties involved, and Russia is involved in the process as much as it can be."
The Russian diplomat said Azerbaijan`s October 15 presidential election would be an extremely important event for the country. "A short break will emerge in the peace process, after which consultations will be continued in which we are ready to participate actively," Nesterenko said.
He added that international experience suggests patience should be exercised in this situation.
Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister, Savarsh Kocharian, said Russia remains interested in Armenia and Azerbaijan`s reaching agreement. He told a local radio station that Moscow has repeatedly spoken openly about its stance on the Garabagh problem and statements it has recently issued are not part of "a diplomatic game."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has recently told the local Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper that work has been done on a document outlining the mechanisms and principles of the conflict settlement, and that only two or three issues remain to be agreed upon between the conflicting sides. These issues, he said, should be agreed at upcoming meetings between the two countries` leaders.
Kocharian said Russia was looking to resolve the Garabagh conflict as soon as possible, as it has major interests both in Armenia, and in Azerbaijan, a producer of energy resources and a transit state for transporting energy. "The unresolved status of the conflict is impeding the realization of these interests," he noted.