The Involvement of Russia and Turkey in the History of Nagorno-Karabakh Has Its Nuances, Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed Turkey's involvement in the conflicts of Nagorno-Karabakh, Syria, and Libya in an interview with the Macedonian news agency in Athens.

“Russia and Turkey are working on resolving conflicts in the areas of tension you mentioned. It is no secret that our approaches to resolving several contentious regional issues can objectively differ significantly,” he stated.

“The involvement of Russia and Turkey in the history of Nagorno-Karabakh has its nuances. We do not hide the fact that we do not support the position regarding the permissibility and likelihood of a military solution to this issue. We consider Armenians and Azerbaijanis as sibling and friendly peoples; we cannot have such aspirations.”

“The leaders of Russia, the US, and France, as co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, have expressed their support exclusively for a political resolution to the conflict. It is precisely this trio of co-chairs that acts as a mediator in resolving this longstanding conflict.”

“As a result of an 11-hour consultation on October 10, involving the foreign ministers of Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, along with representatives from the United States and France, a joint statement was prepared to imply a ceasefire and the restoration of the most effective negotiating process. We are persuading our Turkish partners to use their influence in support of this line in an appropriate manner.”

“I have had a number of phone conversations with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu regarding the topic of Nagorno-Karabakh. We urge all external players to do everything possible to prevent the further development of a military scenario, to cool the feelings of the parties, and to accelerate the work towards creating conditions to resume the peace process,” he added.