Karabakh settlement closer to success than ever before: Russia

PanARMENIAN.Net - The sides to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict have moved much closer to success than ever before but it is too early to disclose the details, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday, July 12 after talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov, TASS reports.

"We have grounds to think that we are now moving much closer to success than ever before," Lavrov said.

However, the foreign minister said he will not disclose the details of agreements reached by the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia at their meeting in St. Petersburg on June 20.

"For obvious reasons, we are not publicly disclosing details of ideas discussed at the meeting. The leaders of the three countries agreed that they will carefully treat those sprouts of hope we now have. Not because we are hiding something, it is just an ethical norm when it comes to negotiations," he added.

Speaking about progress in talks on Karabakh, Lavrov specifically cited his meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Monday.

"The conversation was rather useful, and this will help us move forward towards the realization of the understanding reached by the three Presidents," the foreign minister concluded.

Azerbaijan on April 2 launched an avert offensive against Nagorno Karabakh which killed hundreds on both sides. The sides reached an agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Moscow on April 5.

Armenian Persident Serzh Sargsyan and Azeri leader Ilham Aliyev met on June 20 in Saint Petersburg to address the conflict, with Russian President Vladimir Putin mediating the talks. The Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents confirmed their commitment to the implementation of agreements reached at a Vienna-hosted meeting on May 16. To that end, they have agreed to increase the number of international observers in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone. Also, they expressed satisfaction that the ceasefire was now holding.

Prior to that, a meeting between both leaders was organized on May 16 in Vienna, with top diplomats from the MG co-chairing countries hosting the summit.