It would be wrong to delay the resumption of the negotiation process between the parties to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a joint press conference with Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan on Monday.
"[During the talks, we] also exchanged views on how to move forward. This does not mean that all issues will be resolved quickly and simultaneously. We understand that a process is needed but we think it is wrong to delay the resumption of negotiations between the parties to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.
According to the Minister, Russia expects that the decisions on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh taken as a result of trilateral negotiations between the Foreign Ministers of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia will be strictly implemented by both sides.
"Our meeting was held here [in Moscow] on October 9-10, which allowed us to reach an agreement, it was published and distributed in the UN and OSCE. And we expect that the adopted decisions will be strictly implemented by both sides. We talked about it in detail today," Lavrov said. He also stated that Russia would continue to be actively engaged in the settlement of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Minister added that the Armenian Foreign Minister informed him about his intention to discuss the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh at a meeting with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs (France, the USA, Russia) on Monday. "As far as we were informed by our Armenian friends, today we will talk about how to move forward during the meeting of Minister Mnatsakanyan with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs," he said.
Lavrov expressed hope that the situation on the ground in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone will be changed soon.
"I think that our joint night vigils here, which still ended with the agreement of a very important document, have not been in vain and still we will be able to turn the situation on the ground in the near future. At least we are interested in it, as well as the parties that oppose each other on the ground," the Russian Foreign Minister told a press conference with his Armenian counterpart Zohrab Mnatsakanyan on Monday.
Verification of ceasefire mechanisms in Karabakh
The Foreign Minister added that the topic of verification mechanisms for a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh was discussed in the telephone conversations of Russian President Vladimir Putin with his colleagues from Azerbaijan and Armenia. "I would like to confirm that the issues of verification of the ceasefire are important and key. President Putin's telephone conversations with his colleagues in Baku and Yerevan, which preceded the convening of the Moscow meeting of the three ministers, also touched upon the topic of verification. The issue of how the expected ceasefire will be controlled on the ground," he said.
He recalled that the statement adopted in Moscow on the night of 10 October specifically noted that the issues of developing mechanisms for monitoring the ceasefire will be worked out additionally. "Of course, given the acute nature of the situation in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, given the severity of the problem of prisoners of war, detainees, of course, the need to return the bodies of those killed to their relatives and loved ones, we can not delay the development of such verification mechanisms," the minister stressed.
He also noted that work in these areas is currently underway. "The Russian Federation participates in it, co-chairmen provide all possible assistance. And the International Committee of the Red Cross, with which we are also in contact, is ready to engage as soon as the situation on the ground will be stabilized," the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Turkey's Support
Lavrov stressed that Turkey supported the agreements on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement reached in Moscow at trilateral consultations.
"Answering a question about contacts with Turkish colleagues: I contacted the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, informed him that we count on the support of our efforts, and on Sunday we once again had a telephone conversation during which the support of the Moscow document was confirmed," the Minister said.
He stressed that Russia continues to support the implementation of the agreement on Karabakh reached in Moscow. "Now, as they say, it is a small matter. It is necessary for him to earn in real life. This is what we are doing now", added Lavrov.
Answering a question about the possibility of considering some new formats on Karabakh settlement, Lavrov reminded that the joint statement of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia "confirms the invariability of the OSCE Minsk Group negotiation process formats". "It is quite a large group of countries, but it has delegated the powers of negotiation, mediation to three co-chairmen - Russia, the United States and France. Actually, all last days those statements which sounded from world capitals, they emphasized adherence to the mandate of three co-chairmen to what we now do together with our French and American colleagues who in the person of the special representatives are in Moscow", Lavrov noted.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS