Russian diplomat: Iran, Turkey interested in preventing Karabakh conflict from “unfreezing”

PanARMENIAN.Net - Head of the Fourth CIS States Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry Andrey Kelin said that Iran and Turkey are interested in preventing the Karabakh conflict from “unfreezing” and repeatedly offered their assistance.

However, the matter is not in the number of mediating countries in these processes. Everything depends on the parties to the conflict – Armenia and Azerbaijan, Kelin told Voice of Russia radio station.

According to him, it is necessary that political will to dialogue and settlement wins there, said Kelin.

“Thus, it may happen that the smaller is the number of external opinions during negotiations, the sooner the two countries leaders will reach an agreement. Currently we see that they rather easily reach consent through mediation of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev,” Kelin said, adding that the Russian President’s role is supported in every possible way also by the other OSCE Minsk Group members – the U.S. and France, naturally.

However, Kelin noted that Russia is not too optimistic, since the conflict seems to be the most complicate one on the post-soviet territory.

“Indeed, it is not easy to settle the Karabakh conflict. Now it is in the stage of negotiations. Hopefully, some principles will be developed, of course, if there are not drastic changes in priorities and political moods in these countries, what is also possible. When new people come to power, they treat matters differently. Hopefully, it will not happen,” concluded Kelin.