UNITED NATIONS, October 2. /TASS/. Moscow hopes that Armenia and Azerbaijan will show readiness to engage in dialogue after a statement by the co-chairs of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia told reporters.
"The Minsk Group is the only established format that is to help the parties come to a settlement. And the Minsk Group is ready to facilitate [the negotiations]. But one important condition for the success of the Minsk Group facilitation is the political will of the parties themselves. Unfortunately, so far we hear certain statements which testified that we are not there yet," Nebenzia said. "I hope that the joint statement by the Presidents of the Co-Chair countries of the Minsk Group will be a game changer."
"The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh is a matter of utmost concern to us, not because it is very close to our borders, but primarily because both Armenia and Azerbaijan are not countries which are strange to us," the Russian diplomat added. "And their peoples are not strange to us. We have special relations with both countries and, of course, it is painful for us to look at what is happening."
Nebenzia also dismissed an assumption that Russia and Turkey were supporting the opposing sides of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
"Yes, Turkey is unequivocally supporting Azerbaijan. We know that. But that doesn't mean that we are with the other side supporting Armenia vis-a-vis Azerbaijan. That's not the case. We support the just settlement. We support the ceasefire, the end of hostilities," he said. "We want both countries to stop this escalation."
Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The area experienced flare-ups of violence in the summer of 2014, in April 2016 and this past July. Azerbaijan and Armenia have imposed martial law and launched mobilization efforts. Both parties to the conflict have reported casualties, among them civilians.
The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that had been part of Azerbaijan before the Soviet Union break-up, but primarily populated by ethnic Armenians, broke out in February 1988 after the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1992-1994, tensions boiled over and exploded into large-scale military action for control over the enclave and seven adjacent territories after Azerbaijan lost control of them. Talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement have been ongoing since 1992 under the OSCE Minsk Group, led by its three co-chairs - Russia, France and the United States.