Russia continues to take steps to bring Armenian and Azerbaijani positions closer with a view of solving the Karabakh conflict in a peaceful way, Russian Ambassador to Armenia Ivan Volynkin said in an interview with .
“A number of steps have been taken by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to normalize the situation after the four-day war in April 2016, which, I stress, could be stopped thanks to the timely mediation of Russia,” the Ambassador said. He reminded about the two summits held in Vienna and St. Petersburg.
“Unfortunately, the agreements reached at the summits, including the ones on an investigation mechanism and expansion of the OSCE monitoring mission have not been implemented yet,” Volynkin noted.
He called attention to the clashes at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border on December 29, 2016. “Armenian servicemen and one of the attacking soldiers of Azerbaijan were killed on the territory of Armenia,” the Ambassador reminded.
“Russia stands for re-establishment of peace and stability in the South Caucasus. We see no alternative to the peaceful settlement. In cooperation with the partners in the Minsk Group, we’ll maintain efforts to bring the positions of the parties closer,” he assured.