Phased approach towards settlement of Karabakh issue is being discussed, Lavrov says
21.04.2020,
16:38
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said today that the parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the international peace brokers were actively discussing a draft settlement option based on a phased approach, which was proposed on April 15, 2019 in Moscow.
YEREVAN, April 21. /ARKA/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said today that the parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the international peace brokers were actively discussing a draft settlement option based on a phased approach, which was proposed on April 15, 2019 in Moscow.
Speaking at an online news conference, Lavrov recalled the so-called Madrid Principles, the Kazan document, and some other conflict settlement options that were unveiled a year ago in Moscow during a meeting of the Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers with the participation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.
'These documents suggest progress towards a settlement on the basis of a phased approach," Lavrov said today.
According to the Russian Foreign Minister, these documents envisage a solution of the most pressing problems at the first stage - namely, the liberation of a number of areas around Nagorno-Karabakh and the unblocking of transport, economic and other communications.
“So I am convinced that when we will decide to sign these documents, that will be the most important step in the implementation of the UN Security Council’s resolutions that demanded to end the war and to start negotiations,” Lavrov said. “We have started negotiations, now we need to come to an agreement. We are striving for this as the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group," he said.
Lavrov emphasized that UN Security Council resolutions on the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh were adopted at the height of hostilities, and they primarily meant a complete halt in hostilities and a transition to a settlement negotiations.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted into armed clashes after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s as the predominantly Armenian-populated enclave of Azerbaijan sought to secede from Azerbaijan and declared its independence backed by a successful referendum.
On May 12, 1994, the Bishkek cease-fire agreement put an end to the military operations. A truce was brokered by Russia in 1994, although no permanent peace agreement has been signed. Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh and several adjacent regions have been under the control of Armenian forces of Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh is the longest-running post-Soviet era conflict and has continued to simmer despite the relative peace of the past two decades, with snipers causing tens of deaths a year.
In the early hours of April 2, 2016 Azerbaijan, in gross violation of the agreements launched a large-scale offensive along the entire Line of Contact between the armed forces of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan, using heavy weaponry, artillery and combat aircraft. Only thanks to the decisive actions of the Defense Army, which gave a fitting rebuff, on April 5, Azerbaijan was forced to ask, as in 1994, through the mediation of the Russian Federation for the cessation of the hostilities. It has been generally maintained, despite the recurrent violations by the Azerbaijani side. -0-
Speaking at an online news conference, Lavrov recalled the so-called Madrid Principles, the Kazan document, and some other conflict settlement options that were unveiled a year ago in Moscow during a meeting of the Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers with the participation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.
'These documents suggest progress towards a settlement on the basis of a phased approach," Lavrov said today.
According to the Russian Foreign Minister, these documents envisage a solution of the most pressing problems at the first stage - namely, the liberation of a number of areas around Nagorno-Karabakh and the unblocking of transport, economic and other communications.
“So I am convinced that when we will decide to sign these documents, that will be the most important step in the implementation of the UN Security Council’s resolutions that demanded to end the war and to start negotiations,” Lavrov said. “We have started negotiations, now we need to come to an agreement. We are striving for this as the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group," he said.
Lavrov emphasized that UN Security Council resolutions on the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh were adopted at the height of hostilities, and they primarily meant a complete halt in hostilities and a transition to a settlement negotiations.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted into armed clashes after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s as the predominantly Armenian-populated enclave of Azerbaijan sought to secede from Azerbaijan and declared its independence backed by a successful referendum.
On May 12, 1994, the Bishkek cease-fire agreement put an end to the military operations. A truce was brokered by Russia in 1994, although no permanent peace agreement has been signed. Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh and several adjacent regions have been under the control of Armenian forces of Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh is the longest-running post-Soviet era conflict and has continued to simmer despite the relative peace of the past two decades, with snipers causing tens of deaths a year.
In the early hours of April 2, 2016 Azerbaijan, in gross violation of the agreements launched a large-scale offensive along the entire Line of Contact between the armed forces of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan, using heavy weaponry, artillery and combat aircraft. Only thanks to the decisive actions of the Defense Army, which gave a fitting rebuff, on April 5, Azerbaijan was forced to ask, as in 1994, through the mediation of the Russian Federation for the cessation of the hostilities. It has been generally maintained, despite the recurrent violations by the Azerbaijani side. -0-
