Monday, October 19 2020 16:45

ArmInfo. We are convinced that now the most important thing in the situation around  Nagorno-Karabakh is to immediately stop the confrontational rhetoric  both between the parties and  the responsible international players. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said this at a joint press  conference with Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija  Pejcinovic Buric is following the talks in Moscow, adding that the  Russian side informed the Secretariat of the Council of Europe how it  sees the resolution of the issue and what steps it is taking now.

The Russian minister expressed his conviction that ending the  confrontational rhetoric does not require much effort. "The next,  absolutely necessary step - it must be taken simultaneously with the  end of confrontational rhetoric - is to stop hostilities, to stop  strikes on civilian targets," the Russian Foreign Minister said,  recalling that this very requirement is also contained in the  statement of the heads of state of the Minsk Group co-chairs OSCE. He  added that an identical demand is contained in the Moscow document  signed by the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan on October  10, and this is also confirmed in the document dated October 18,  which the parties agreed upon in an attempt to stop the bloodshed  again.

The head of Russian diplomacy agreed that the hopes at the Moscow  meeting did not come true, the fighting continued, and the attacks on  civilian infrastructure and settlements also continued.

"This is unacceptable. In order for the ceasefire justify itself, it  is necessary to create and establish a mechanism for monitoring  compliance with the ceasefire regime as we have already been  convinced of this after two documents that were adopted and did not  allow to radically change the situation," Lavrov said.

In this vein, he added that the Russian side is actively working on  this issue, primarily the RF Ministry of Defense with colleagues from  Armenia and Azerbaijan. Lavrov expressed the hope that soon it will  be possible to agree on this mechanism.

"Having said about the tasks of today, I cannot fail to mention the  need to significantly accelerate efforts for a political settlement.  This is also stated in the Moscow statement. There are detailed  extensive developments that the OSCE MG co-chairs - RF, France and  the United States prepared, discussed with the parties. In my  opinion, they contain all the answers to all questions, and within  the limits of the achievable at the present historical moment. In my  opinion, we must today induce the parties to agree on key provisions  that will allow in the longer term to stabilize the situation in this  region, unblock economic and transport links, and ensure reliable  security for both Karabakh and other territories located here,  "Lavrov summed up.