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Russian Foreign Ministry: The document discussed between Azerbaijan and Armenia covers 17 principles on the resolution of the conflict

24 September 2010 13:42 (UTC +04:00)

Moscow. Viktoria Dementyeva â€“ APA. â€œNagorno Karabakh conflict is a complicated problem. The positions of the sides have become fixed and a there exists a balance state that is very difficult to violate. In order to change this balance there is a need for a strong political will, strong support and consensus from the society,â€ Director of the Fourth CIS States Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry Andrey Kelin said, APAâ€™s correspondent reports from Moscow. According to him, Nagorno Karabakh is the most painful and major foreign policy issue for both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Andrey Kelin commented on the efficiency of the format of OSCE Minsk Group.
â€œThe format is not the case. The question is the desire and will of the persons, who will realize the process of resolution. Minsk Group has justified itself, though there were efforts to extend its composition. Turkey has recently attempted to actively participate in this. We consider it counterproductive, as we have a unique situation, when the positions of US, France and Russia coincide and this allows us to be the guarantor of the process. France and US support us in this issue,â€ he said.

According to Andrey Kelin, for the first time within the recent years a unique document has appeared on Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the sides coordinated their positions on a number of items.
â€œThe negotiations are closed and we do not publicize the details. It would be better if we do not go into details. For the first time within the recent years there is a unique a unique document. There are 17 principles in this document. Among them there are fully coordinated principles, but there are principles on which there is a fundamental divergence between the sides. For the present it is impossible to find a solution, but I want to underline that there are not so many uncoordinated principles. If there is a political will, I think it will not be difficult to reach a compromise,â€ he said.

Andrey Kelin said that it requires a serious impulse to o reach the final approximation between the sides.
â€œIf we do not do this, the situation will continue to tense. Anyway the situation is tense enough, shootings continue on the line of contact, the number of incidents is increasing, both sides are gaining strength. So, there are threats that sooner or later the escalation of the incidents will turn into a large-scale tension,â€ he said.

Director of the department said Russia is trying to act simultaneously with both Yerevan and Baku, not be equally-spaced, but equally close.
â€œBoth sides are our important allies. We have got good relations with both countries,â€ he said.
Commenting on the visit of the Russian President to Azerbaijan, Andrey Kelin said a very important document on the state border was signed during the visit.
â€œWe have solved the problem concerning the determination of the border in the area of the Samur River. This is a great improvement,â€ he said.

Andrey Kelin noted that the legal status of the Caspian Sea and lack of the agreement on the protection and promotion of investments remained unsolved issues between Azerbaijan and Russia.
Director of the department also commented on the idea to establish a confederation between Azerbaijan and Georgia.
â€œThis issue dates back to the remote past. We asked this in Baku, they did not confirm that it is possible or it is being studied thoroughly,â€ he said.