Russia will not make any changes in its stand on the Karabakh issue, Russian political scientist Grigory Trofimchuk said. According to him, if the NKR authorities decide to hold a referendum on independence, this will be a decision beyond the sphere of Russia's influence. "No one will ask Russia whether to hold the referendum or not. If determined, it will be conducted on the fixed date and Russia will support it. Unlike the Transnistrian or Abkhazian issues, Russia will not engage into a political confrontation and its line on Karabakh has undergone no changes," the Russian political scientist said.

Trofimchuk considers that the situation with Nagorno Karabakh differs from the situation in Transnistria and South Ossetia. "In case with Karabakh Russia will support the position of the EU and U.S. Azerbaijan will anyway come off the loser, since the West is interested in its oil but not its territorial integrity," he said, reported Day.az.