Azernews.Az

By Aynur Karimova

Moscow has urged the parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to refrain from using force and to show political will in reaching a compromise, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, was quoted by Russian media as saying.

"Unfortunately, the restoration of political dialogue is complicated by the worsening situation in the conflict zone, the increased number of casualties, including civilians,” she said. “We believe that the further escalation is simply unacceptable. We call the sides to refrain from using force and demonstrate the political will necessary to reach a compromise."

Zakharova also noted that the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was thoroughly discussed during Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers’ visit to Moscow in April-May 2015.

"This is also the topic of ongoing contacts among Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his foreign colleagues,” she said. “We are working in this direction in close cooperation with the U.S. and France.”

Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor, causing a brutal war in the early 1990s. Long-standing efforts by U.S., Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

Mehmet Fatih Oztarsu, co-president of the Turkish analytical center "the Strategic Outlook", believes that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict cannot be resolved with the involvement of international organizations, as evidenced by the work of OSCE Minsk Group, which has for many years demonstrated its inefficiency.

Oztarsu, who specializes in the Caucasus region, told Trend on October 14 that the conflict could be resolved only with participation of the regional countries, and partially with involvement of the U.S.

“If the U.S. had been active in foreign policy, as it was during George W. Bush’s presidency, there could have been great changes in the Caucasus,” the expert said.

He also noted that it would be difficult to resolve the conflict by ignoring Russia’s interests.

"Armenia joined the Eurasian Economic Union for two reasons: to secure Russia’s support for the Karabakh issue, and to enhance Armenia’s position in Russia," he said.

Meanwhile, the expert believes that Azerbaijan’s importance for Russia is quite obvious.

As a result of the military aggression of Armenia, over 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, 4,866 were reported missing, almost 100,000 were injured and 50,000 were left disabled.

The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions on the Armenian withdrawal from Azerbaijani territories, but they have not been enforced to this day.

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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova

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