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Azerbaijanâ€™s position regarded with favor by official Moscow

13 August 2008 12:25 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Lachin Sultanova â€“ APA. â€œWe hope that after the recent developments proper conclusion will be made up in the region and outside the region, decision satisfying the parties will be made at the end,â€ asked in what direction the negotiations on South Ossetia would continue, Russiaâ€™s ambassador to Azerbaijan Vasili Istratov said at the press conference, APA reports. The ambassador said that there was no alternative to the negotiations and added that the talks had already been restored.

Asked on what bases 80 percent of South Ossetiaâ€™s population became Russian citizens, the ambassador said Russiaâ€™s law on citizenship made it available for the former citizens of USSR to receive Russian citizenship after the collapse of USSR.
â€œAzerbaijani citizens also made use of it,â€ he said.

Asked how many Russian citizens there were in Nagorno Karabakh at the moment and whether Russia could repeat the operation carried out against Georgia, in case Azerbaijan wanted to restore its territorial integrity, the diplomat said he did not know how many Russian citizens lived in Nagorno Karabakh. The ambassador said Russia had carried out operations in South Ossetia to protect its citizens and peacekeepers, noted that Russian citizens lived in any country of the world and did not want to draw comparison.

Taking a stance on Azerbaijanâ€™s position during Russia-Georgia confrontation Vasili Istratov said Azerbaijanâ€™s position, as well as the statements were regarded with favor by official Moscow.