Russia will continue fostering dialogue on Nagorny Karabakh settlement, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday after meeting with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan.
Nagorny Karabakh, a breakaway region on Azerbaijani territory with a predominantly ethnic Armenian population, has been at the center of a bitter conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
“An important topic of our discussion is improving stability in South Caucasus,” Medvedev said, adding that he and Sargsyan shared opinions on the situation surrounding Karabakh settlement. “I personally believe that a fair settlement of the conflict can only be achieved politically,” Medvedev added.
“Russia will continue fostering Nagorny Karabakh negotiations as a co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group and through direct contacts with the leadership of Armenia and Azerbaijan,” the President Medvedev said.
In his turn, Sargsyan praised Medvedev and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for their mediation efforts and confirmed readiness to stick to peaceful methods in resolving the conflict.
Under the updated in Madrid principles of the settlement Azerbaijan insist Armenia should withdraw in the near future its troops from the territories of Azerbaijan.
An agreement on Nagorny Karabakh will only be possible if Azerbaijan gives up a number of amendments suggested during a meeting in Kazan, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan said.
Armenia and Azerbaijan were unable to come to an agreement on the path to peace in Nagorny Karabakh after a meeting in Russia's Kazan in June, but said some progress had been made.
Nagorny Karabakh has remained under Armenian control since the late 1980s, when the region claimed independence from Azerbaijan. The conflict is estimated to have left more than 30,000 people dead on both sides between 1988 and 1994.
