Russia is ready to further continue its mediation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said at a joint news conference with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on Friday.
Russia will contribute to finding a political solution to the conflict on the basis of mutually acceptable agreements, both within the OSCE Minsk Group and the bilateral contacts,” Medvedev said.
Is it is very important for Russia that there was a peace in the region and the events of August 2008 did not recur in the Caucasus, he said.
“Task of Russia as the biggest state in the region is to maintain peace and order. At the same time, we have own allied commitments with the CSTO members. Armenia is one of the CSTO members and everything else is based on our contract, which lists all the obligations of the parties, to which Russia is very serious,” Medvedev said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. – are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied territories.
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