Russia making great efforts to settle Nagorno-Karabakh crisis - foreign ministry

MOSCOW, April 6. /TASS/. Russia’s leadership is doing its utmost to contribute to a sustainable ceasefire and the resumption of peace talks on the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday. "Today Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is heading to Baku. Taking into consideration the development of events, the trip that was planned earlier is becoming especially topical. The Russian leadership is making great efforts with the goal of normalizing the situation in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," the diplomat said. The Russian president and prime minister also held phone conversations with the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is due to visit Yerevan and Baku in the coming days, Zakharova said. On Wednesday, Lavrov is going to Baku to attend a trilateral meeting in the Russia-Azerbaijan-Iran format. The foreign minister will hold bilateral talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart. On April 8, Lavrov is also scheduled to meet with Armenia’s foreign minister on the sidelines of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Foreign Ministers’ Council in Moscow as part of the efforts to calm down the situation. "We expect that intense efforts of the Russian side will contribute to a stable ceasefire regime and the resumption of negotiating process on the peaceful settlement of the conflict," Zakharova said. The situation along the line of contact in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone deteriorated dramatically overnight to April 2 when fierce clashes began. The parties to the conflict accused each other of violating the truce. The Armenian and Azerbaijani defense ministries announced cessation of combat operations in Nagorno-Karabakh from 11:00 a.m. (0800GMT) Moscow time on April 5. The agreement on ceasefire was reached at Tuesday’s meeting in Moscow between the chiefs of General Staff of Armenian and Azerbaijani Armed Forces, Armenia’s Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan said earlier in the day. Read more