Russian Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Yuri Merzlyakov has positively assessed the current stage of the talks over the Karabakh problem and noted that parties are close to its settlement. From that point of view he indicated the importance of the potential meeting of the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. The moment has come for the two state leaders to give concrete instructions to their ministers and mediators on the future actions, Merzlyakov said in an interview with RFE/RL. In his words, the OSCE Minsk Group already has a package, which can be suggested to Robert Kocharian and Ilham Aliyev. Now everything depends on the decisions of the Presidents of the two countries, the Russian diplomat noted. At that he added that that the Armenian and Azeri authorities should make certain concessions, however the societies in both countries are not ready to compromise yet and much has to be done to that end. Today it is clear that the settlement of the Karabakh problem can only be political, Yuri Merzlyakov emphasized.