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Lavrov labels US demands for explanations on Karabakh statement as ‘misunderstanding'

The top diplomat recalled the telephone conversations between the presidents of Russia and France, during which "the Karabakh issue was discussed in the most thorough way"

MOSCOW, November 17. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov commented Tuesday on US and French officials’ claims that they lacked information about the November 9 statement by the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, labelling it a result of a misunderstanding.

"It was very strange to hear that," Lavrov said when asked for a comment on the statements in question. "From the very beginning of the efforts that Russia had undertaken for the sake of ending the hot phase of this conflict we worked in close cooperation with the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group."

"Honestly, I believe that such claims either indicate that those who make them lack information or are the result of a misunderstanding," he added.

Lavrov recalled the telephone conversations between the presidents of Russia and France, during which "the Karabakh issue was discussed in the most thorough way."

"I spent about an hour discussing the same issue with my French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian," Lavrov said. "Our American counterparts were informed through the deputy secretary of state, too. US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo was on a foreign tour at the moment."

On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting from November 10. The Russian leader said the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides would maintain the positions that they had held and Russian peacekeepers would be deployed to the region.