MOSCOW ALARMED BY RISING TENSION BETWEEN ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN, CALLS FOR RESTRAINT
Interfax
June 7 2012
Russia
Russian Foreign Ministry official spokesman Alexander Lukashevich has
voiced hope that the upcoming meeting between the foreign ministers
of Armenia and Azerbaijan, scheduled for Paris on June 18, will help
ease tension in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone.
"We do hope that it will defuse tension and clear the way for further
progress towards a settlement and towards coordinating the principles
of a peaceful solution to the Karabakh conflict in line with the
agreements reached by the Armenian and Azeri presidents in Sochi in
January in the presence of the Russian president," he told reporters
in Moscow on Thursday.
"We are alarmed by reports about escalating tension in the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. We are particularly concerned over a
sharp increase in casualties among soldiers as a result of ceasefire
violations in the beginning of this month. There have been casualties
among civilians too," the diplomat said.
He called on the conflicting parties to strictly honor the 1994
ceasefire agreement.
Speaking about the incidents that took place on June 4 and 5, he
said that they "complicate work on a settlement and undermine the
previous agreements".
"We are urging both sides to continue efforts towards resolving the
conflict through peaceful, political and diplomatic means on the
principles of the non-use of force, territorial integrity, equality
and the right of nations to self-determination," Lukashevich said.
Russia, in cooperation with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen, will
continue to assist Armenia and Azerbaijan in their search for mutually
acceptable solutions.
In a sign of rising tension on the line of contact between Armenian
and Azeri troops, the Armenian Defense Ministry has announced that
two attempts by Azeri soldiers to penetrate the Armenian territory
were repulsed on the night of June 4 and 5.
The status of Nagorno-Karabakh remains a stumbling block at the ongoing
Armenian-Azeri talks mediated by three co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk
Group - from Russia, France and the United States.
Interfax
June 7 2012
Russia
Russian Foreign Ministry official spokesman Alexander Lukashevich has
voiced hope that the upcoming meeting between the foreign ministers
of Armenia and Azerbaijan, scheduled for Paris on June 18, will help
ease tension in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone.
"We do hope that it will defuse tension and clear the way for further
progress towards a settlement and towards coordinating the principles
of a peaceful solution to the Karabakh conflict in line with the
agreements reached by the Armenian and Azeri presidents in Sochi in
January in the presence of the Russian president," he told reporters
in Moscow on Thursday.
"We are alarmed by reports about escalating tension in the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. We are particularly concerned over a
sharp increase in casualties among soldiers as a result of ceasefire
violations in the beginning of this month. There have been casualties
among civilians too," the diplomat said.
He called on the conflicting parties to strictly honor the 1994
ceasefire agreement.
Speaking about the incidents that took place on June 4 and 5, he
said that they "complicate work on a settlement and undermine the
previous agreements".
"We are urging both sides to continue efforts towards resolving the
conflict through peaceful, political and diplomatic means on the
principles of the non-use of force, territorial integrity, equality
and the right of nations to self-determination," Lukashevich said.
Russia, in cooperation with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen, will
continue to assist Armenia and Azerbaijan in their search for mutually
acceptable solutions.
In a sign of rising tension on the line of contact between Armenian
and Azeri troops, the Armenian Defense Ministry has announced that
two attempts by Azeri soldiers to penetrate the Armenian territory
were repulsed on the night of June 4 and 5.
The status of Nagorno-Karabakh remains a stumbling block at the ongoing
Armenian-Azeri talks mediated by three co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk
Group - from Russia, France and the United States.