YEREVAN, April 22. /TASS/. Russia and Armenia take a stand against attempts to create an alternative to the OSCE Minsk Group as a coordinator of the Narogno-Karabakh settlement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday.
"We do not support attempts to seek parallel channels, create mechanisms that do not enjoy the confidence of all sides. This will only distract from the main task - to ensure security, avoid new victims and create conditions for resuming the political process," he said at a meeting with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.
According to Lavrov, the parties themselves should come to resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis, while Russia and other Minsk Group co-chairs - the US and France - will try to help them in that.
"We have a common stance, and I understand Armenia supports it, that the co-chairs' troika is to act as a chief coordinator in accordance with the mandate agreed by the sides," Russia’s top diplomat said.
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"I understand that it is difficult to return to the negotiating table now, tensions must subside a little bit, and people should calm down too," he added.
Lavrov noted that there can be no military solution to this conflict, and it is necessary to push ahead with efforts to reach a political settlement.
"I think that, if we could make some progress, at least in the political process, if we could identify the general principles for the parties to rely on as legally binding, this would not only play an important role in launching the talks but would also be a factor to prevent outbreaks of violence," Lavrov said.