The State Duma of the Russian Federation hailed the declaration on Karabakh issue, achieved as a result of a trilateral meeting of the presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia in Astrakhan.

"Declaration on confidence-building measures signals the parties' further willingness to seek compromises in preventing escalation of tensions in Karabakh," First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma International Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky was quoted as saying by Itar-Tass.

He said "this is a small advancement in geopolitical sense, but in fact, has a" great political significance in the case of Karabakh problem". "A month ago, there were shootings at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, and now the parties at the negotiating table. This should be welcomed," Slutsky said.

"I very much hope that the general principles for Karabakh conflict settlement will be worked out before the OSCE summit in Astana on Dec.1-2. I agree with President Medvedev, that it's realistic," he added, Trend News reported.