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Agreements on Nagorno-Karabakh settlement ‘almost ready’ — Lavrov

According to the foreign minister, Russian President Vladimir Putin pays personal attention to this issu

BAKU, April 7. /TASS/. Almost all the agreements on the settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh are "on the table," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday after talks with his Azerbaijani and Iranian counterparts Elmar Mammadyarov and Javad Zarif.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin pays personal attention to this issue, we regularly meet at the level of ministers with counterparts from Azerbaijan and Armenia," Lavrov said.

Lavrov noted that the agreement on cessation of hostilities was reached with active mediation of Moscow. "Russian President Vladimir Putin talked on the telephone with his colleagues in Azerbaijan and Armenia. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will arrive in Yerevan today and will be in Baku tomorrow. We mediated in this issue at the level of chiefs of staff of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia," he added.

"An agreement was reached on cessation of hostilities and ceasefire which was announced, and it is observed in general," the foreign minister noted. "We are following the situation. The main thing is that both sides confirm their adherence to this regime (ceasefire)," he said.

"I agree that almost all the components of agreements are already on the table," he said, adding that "in fact, we are very close (to reaching them)."

The top diplomat added that he plans to continue the conversation with his colleagues from Azerbaijan and Armenia. In particular, he plans to meet with the Armenian foreign minister on the sidelines of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on April 8 in Moscow.

He stressed that Russia is interested more than any other foreign partner that the conflict is resolved as soon as possible. "It is in our common interest to reach settlement."

Russia’s top diplomat also urged measures to prevent new outbreaks of violence and called for stepping up efforts for political settlement.

The situation along the line of contact in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone deteriorated dramatically overnight to April 2 when fierce clashes began. The parties to the conflict accused each other of violating the truce.

At a meeting of chiefs of General Staff of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Moscow on Tuesday, an agreement was reached on the ceasefire from 11:00 a.m. (0800GMT) Moscow time on April 5.