RF MFA: Karabakh standpoint to be taken into account

PanARMENIAN.Net - Moscow seeks a comprehensive solution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Russia's top diplomat said.



"Moscow's goal is to find a solution acceptable for both nations," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a joint news conference with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian.



At that he emphasized that NKR's standpoint will be taken into account during elaboration of a peace agreement.



The Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) is a de facto independent republic located in the South Caucasus, bordering by Azerbaijan to the north and east, Iran to the south, and Armenia to the west.



After the Soviet Union established control over the area, in 1923 it formed the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) within the Azerbaijan SSR. In the final years of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan launched an ethnic cleansing which resulted in the Karabakh War that was fought from 1991 to 1994.



Since the ceasefire in 1994, most of Nagorno Karabakh and several regions of Azerbaijan around it (the security zone) remain under the control of Nagorno Karabakh defense army.



Armenia and Azerbaijan have since been holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group.