BAKU, April 8. /TASS/. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday he hopes that a lasting peace will be established in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and Moscow will do its utmost for the settlement.
"The ceasefire established now will be long-lasting and the sides will be able to continue discussing the settlement issues at the negotiating table," Medvedev said at the meeting with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.
Medvedev noted that a lot of effort has been made to establish ceasefire, adding that he hopes that all this will not be in vain.
- Armenian prime minister, Azerbaijan's president discuss Nagorno-Karabakh
- Azerbaijani, Armenian top diplomats agree to meet in the near future
- Putin emphasizes importance of giving boost to Baku-Yerevan talks on Nagorno Karabakh
- Azerbaijan, Armenia give fresh impetus to Karabakh negotiations — Azerbaijani leader
The Russian prime minister arrived in Baku to discuss the situation in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region with his Azerbaijani partners. The visit was not planned in advance and it became necessary after the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict had escalated. The Russian prime minister traveled to Baku from Yerevan where he held talks with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan.
"I do not hide that we are very concerned over this situation. The relations with two countries are extremely important for us," Medvedev stressed.
As a member of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Russia is committed to the approaches formulated at the level of the United Nations, he said.
"In any case, one should have no doubt that Russia will do everything in its power for that," he stressed.
Speaking on Russia’s relations with Azerbaijan, Medvedev said that the countries have a host of projects in the economic and humanitarian areas and also many political issues.
Medvedev said the consultations between the leadership of two countries will continue both on resolving the conflict and also on other issues as bilateral relations are "multifaceted" and "there is always something to discuss."
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 an agreement was reached on the ceasefire from 11:00 a.m. Moscow time (0800GMT) on April 5.