YEREVAN, APRIL 4, ARMENPRESS. Nagorno Karabakh conflict can have no military settlement. The Minsk Group format is the only acceptable one for the settlement. “Armenpress” reports Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told about this in a joint briefing with his Moldovan counterpart.

 “Our position on the developments in Nagorno Karabakh has been expressed by President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and I have contacted with our partners in Baku and Yerevan. We expressed serious concern and repeated the same call as the President to immediately put end to ceasefire violations and not to create further complications for resuming peace settlement efforts. We hope that hose calls reached where they were directed. Anyway, the sides have announced about that they have given appropriate instructions, but today we again hear announcements that the situation has not completely been smothered.  We continue keeping in touch with Baku and Yerevan, so as finally the calls from Moscow, Washington and Paris serve their aim”, Sergey Lavrov mentioned.

Referring to the Minsk Group format, the RF Foreign Minister stated that the group is a large mechanism which has clarified the principles upon which the final solution to Nagorno Karabakh issue will be based. Lavrov documented that the Minsk Group Co-chairs take active measures; they are in permanent touch with the countries, visit the region, meet with the Presidents, Foreign Ministers, go to the conflict zone and visit the contact line.

“This is the universally acknowledged trio of the Co-chairs, the role of which is enshrined in the decisions of both the OSCE and the UN. We must by all means support their activities. It would be correct not to try to undermine the role of the Minsk Group Co-chairs and not to try to neglect that role and the works that are of key importance and to which the Co-chairs reached as a result of nearly 10 years of works with the sides. Moving the conflict settlement process out of Co-chair format will be used by those who wish either to fail of create difficulties for the conflict settlement. And such attempts are made by those for who the respective approaches for the settlement of NK issue are not beneficial that are enshrined in numerous documents of the USA, RF and France”, Lavrov said.

The Foreign Minister of Armenia has announced for much time that Armenia is grateful to the Minsk Group Co-chairs for the important and consistent mediation efforts.