ANKARA: Lavrov: Current situation of Karabakh unacceptable

WorldBulletin.net, Turkey
May 22 2013

Lavrov: Current situation of Karabakh unacceptable

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said the current situation of Karabakh
issue cannot remain unsolved

World Bulletin/News Desk

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that the
current situation of the Karabakh issue, unacceptable for both
parties, cannot remain unsolved.

Speaking at a press conference after his meeting with the Azeri
Foreign Minister Elmar Memmedyarov, Russian FM Lavrov touched upon
further developing bilateral relations by using platforms such as
“Russian-Azeri Interregional Forum” and “Baku International
Humanitarian Forum.”

The agenda of the meeting covered, as Lavrov said, enhancing the
economic, social and cultural relations between Russia and Azerbaijan,
and the Karabakh issue, the disputed region between southwestern
Azerbaijan and eastern Armenia.

Lavrov said, handling the Karabakh issue with his Azeri counterpart,
“The current situation of the Karabakh issue is unacceptable for both
parties. If the issue remains unsolved, it would mean the continuation
of the problem of Armenian economic embargo and the dispute on the
return of the Azeri territories.”

Reminding Moscow’s key role in solving the Karabakh issue and the
efforts towards sustaining talks in different formats since the 1994
armistice between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Lavrov described Russia’s
goal as the Co-Chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group as turning the statements of the parties
into concrete steps.

Lavrov also noted that the recent suspension of the Gabala Radar
Station (RLS) and Baku-Novorosiysk oil pipeline agreements did not
mean the bilateral relations were turning negative.