Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov urged not to politicize the processes underway in Nagorno-Karabakh to establish a peaceful life.
"There is no need to politicize the process now. It is going on quite difficult, because the issues related to the routes of connection of this region, related to the provision of what is now called the connectivity of regional relations, are also being solved. The issues of the line of contact, the delimitation and the demarcation of borders are being resolved. These are practical, understandable things that need to be solved so that the region can breathe freely and live a peaceful life," he said Thursday at a press conference following talks with Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazyan.
"Those who try to put these issues on hold and engage in political discussions first, in my opinion, are turning the whole process upside down. It is much easier to solve political issues when people have started to live normally on the ground - both Azerbaijanis and Armenians - with each other, as it has been for many, many decades and centuries," Lavrov added.
Stabilization of the situation
Moscow and Yerevan note progress on stabilizing the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and do not reduce efforts to demining, protect cultural heritage and return all detainees home, Lavrov noted.
"We touched in detail on the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh. We noted the progress achieved and the stabilization of the situation. We do not reduce our efforts aimed at the return home of all detainees, de-mining, protection of cultural and religious heritage and the launching of specialized international organizations in Nagorno-Karabakh," Lavrov said.
He also noted the important contribution to the normalization of the situation in the region made by the trilateral working group headed by the deputy prime ministers of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan to unblock economic ties and transport communications in the region. "The success of this work will be crucial for creating the conditions necessary for the normalization of the general situation and the establishment of constructive cooperation in the post-conflict period," the Russian Foreign Minister added.
Lavrov also underscored the need for further activities of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, "first of all, to help create an atmosphere of trust".
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Alexander Ryumin / TASS
Based on materials from TASS