Russia has own proposals for settling situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, says Lavrov

BAKU, April 6. /TASS/. Russia will be taking steps towards assuring observance of ceasefire in the Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh enclave district of Azerbaijan, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said here on Wednesday during talks with the Azerbaijani President, Ilham Aliev. "The process of peace settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh we’re handling as a country close to both Armenia and Azerbaijan and as a country co-chairing the Minsk Group of the OSCE (put in charge of steering the issues related to peace in the much-troubled enclave - TASS) has now bumped into a challenge," Lavrov said. "The current resurgence of hostilities is the largest one in years." "We’ve taken all the essential steps at the level of the President, Prime Minister, Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry, and the General Staff of the Armed Forces so as to help the sides attain an agreement on ceasefire," he said. "We’ll be ready to work towards preventing encroachments on the accords." "It’s important to bring tranquility back and that’s why we’ll step up settlement at the political level," Lavrov said. "We have proposals of our own and we’re doing our best in the interests of an accord between Azerbaijan and Armenia," he added. "I hope these issues will be discussed today and tomorrow," Lavrov said, adding that Moscow supported the initiatives launched by the co-chairpersons of the Minsk Group who had come to Baku and would go to the areas adjoining the line of contact, which separates the conflicting sides. "I think we’ll manage (to attain ceasefire - TASS) with the OSCE’s assistance," he said. "It’s essential to undertake some trust-building measures very shortly and to lay the groundwork for a resumption of the political process." Read more