“We welcome the meeting between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan. We wish for that to continue. I am working with the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group in that direction. There will be new meetings soon. The meetings have to be prepared very well so that real results can be shown. Now it is important for the international condition towards Artsakh be predictable and relaxed. Thankfully, I and the OSCE co-chairs share the same opinion: that we need to get rid of the possibility of military action. We need to be realistic and welcome negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan with the help of the international community,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Grigory Karasin told reporters at the Armenian-Russian University.
When asked if it is possible for an agreement to be made this year, Grigory Karasin said that that is a difficult question. “Everyone wants for the Artsakh issue to be resolved quickly, but we need to base it off of the negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”
Responding to the question of whether it is possible for there to be peace without compromising territory, Karasin said, “I cannot answer that question.”
He is in Armenia on a working visit. He met with the Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan. Their meeting was rather long. “We spoke for about a half a day regarding issues that affect both our nations, including Eurasian integration, the CSTO, and Artsakh.” They agreed that their collaboration in international platforms will continue. The Armenian-Russian committee session will also be taking place in February.
Nelly Grigoryan
