Lavrov assures that existing stagnation in negotiations over NK conflict doesn’t mean they will not work out

YEREVAN, MAY 21, ARMENPRESS: In case of Nagorno-Karabakh, preservation of status quo is unacceptable, moreover, unacceptable for everyone. As reports Armenpress, referring to official page of Russian Foreign Ministry, this was declared by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during the joint press conference with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in Moscow.

“First of all it is unacceptable for Azerbaijan, Armenia and for those who live in Nagorno-Karabakh, I strongly believe in it. Status quo is unacceptable for Russian Federation as long-term and tough conflict exists between our neighbors, our friends, while stability and peace in Caucasus are the priority of Russian external policy, which is fixed in Russia’s concept of external policy approved on February 12, 2013 by Vladimir Putin,” Lavrov added.

According to him, Minsk Group Co-Chairs are faithful to the commitments regarding the settlement of the situation. Lavrov reminded that during Dmitry Medvedev’s office Presidents of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan have had more than ten meetings, nevertheless failed to reach an agreement in that period. “Those meetings were rather useful for the clarification of crucial details,” he noted.

He has assured that the main goal is to implement the main principals. “Work aimed at it continues to be carried out. Days ago meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers was held in Krakow. These processes require full support. Nobody is going to quit, we will spare no effort to help, create conditions for the resolution of the issue, acknowledging that it can be resolved only by the interested sides. We are here to promote it,” Lavrov underlined.

Let us remind that on the request of "Armenpress" News Agency, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan commented on the statement of the Azerbaijani President, who spoke about the unacceptability of status quo in the Nagorno Karabakh issue.

Question: Recently the Azerbaijani President touched upon the Nagorno Karabakh issue in Austria and announced about the unacceptability of maintaining the status quo and that the change of status quo means removal of the Armenian Armed Forces from the so-called "occupied territories of Azerbaijan". How would You comment on that statement?

Answer: It's not a secret any more that the Azerbaijani authorities constantly make such statements just in order to prevent any changes regarding the status quo. If Azerbaijan really wanted to change status quo, it would have reached agreement regarding the conflict regulation principles suggested by the Minsk Group Co-Chairs and will contribute to the progress of the negotiations process, and not to ruin it, as it happened in Kazan.

Azerbaijan has but one chance to satisfy its desire for changing the status quo via passing around the negotiation format of the Co-Chairs. For that reason Azerbaijan must recognize the Nagorno Karabakh Republic and start negotiations with the NKR to eliminate the consequences of the aggression it has initiated including the present status quo.