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Karabakh problem to be solved soon

25 January 2010 22:28 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Ayaz Abdulla â€“ APA. One small step to the resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan was made in Russia’s Sochi, APA reports quoting the Voice of Russia. In 1988, this Azerbaijan region populated mainly by Armenians proclaimed independence which led to a long-lasting war.
Some progress in the solution of Nagorno-Karabakh problem was reached at the Sochi meeting on January 25th between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan Serzh Sargsjan and Ilham Aliyev through the intermediary of the Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the following: "Today the main result is an agreement under which parties to a treaty are to work out concrete proposals on the disputable provisions. We are sure that this will help the co-chairmen in their future work".
Co-chairmen are Russia, the US and France, heading the OSCE Minsk Group which is to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It was established under the initiative of Moscow. The group helped to formulate some of the conflict resolution principles, namely returning the territories around Nagorno-Karabakh under Azerbaijan’s control and granting the region a temporary status which guarantees safety and autonomy. The final legal status of the region will be defined later by voting.
Specific proposals presented by the Minsk Group co-chairmen were considered at the Sochi meeting. According to Sergey Lavrov, negotiators came to agreement on the document’s preamble containing these ideas. The Russian Minister refused to specify the details of the document or at least its preamble as it is a subject to negotiations. The parties decided to continue negotiations.
Russia’s principle position in the Nagorno-Karabakh resolution is not to impose any external recipes on the parties. The main responsibility for the final choice should be born by Azerbaijan and Armenia. According to Moscow, only such a decision of the problem which will allow to return peace and stability to the Transcaucasia and to maintain the historical balance of power in the region will be viable. Russia is ready to be a guarantor of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution.