Russia follows Karabakh situation to determine stance

MOSCOW

Russia closely follows the developments in the Nagorno-Karabakh region to determine future steps it would take, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

Moscow is in constant contact with Yerevan, Baku, and Ankara at various levels on the issue, Peskov told reporters in Moscow.

"We collect all information about what is happening on the contact line, monitor all news that appears, analyze the situation and use this knowledge to form our future position and determine further steps together with our partners in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) group," Peskov said.

He called on all countries, particularly "partner countries such as Turkey", to do everything possible to persuade the warring parties to cease fire and return to a peaceful settlement through political and diplomatic means.

Peskov also added that the recent escalation is a subject for a thorough analysis within the Collective Security Treaty Organization, an intergovernmental military alliance comprising six former Soviet states - Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.

The treaty suggests among other things a joint repel of a military aggression against one of its signatories.

Border clashes broke out early Sunday when Armenian forces targeted Azerbaijani civilian settlements and military positions, leading to casualties. Azerbaijan’s parliament declared a state of war in some of its cities and regions following Armenia’s border violations and attacks in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Relations between the two former Soviet nations have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh, or Nagorno-Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.

Four UN Security Council and two UN General Assembly resolutions demand the withdrawal of the occupying forces.

The OSCE Minsk Group -- co-chaired by France, Russia, and the US -- was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, but to no avail. A cease-fire, however, was agreed upon in 1994.

Several countries, including Russia, US and Germany, have called for an immediate halt to clashes and return to the negotiating table.