Armenia: Moscow accord rules out Turkey role in Karabakh settlement

PanARMENIAN.Net - The results of talks in Moscow between the Foreign Ministers of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan and the statement adopted on Saturday, October 10 confirm that the only format for settling the Karabakh conflict is the OSCE Minsk Group, Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan has said.

"No other side, in particular Turkey, can have any role here,” Mnatsakanyan told the Public TV of Armenia immediately after consultations in the Russian capital.

The Armenian Foreign Minister stressed the need to achieve a ceasefire, without which he said it is impossible to talk about progress in peace process.

"In this process, the priority is the safety of our compatriots, the recognition and realization of their right to self-determination, the consolidation of this right, that they should decide their fate as a unit recognized by all parties as an independent state," Mnatsakanyan said.

He also stressed the important role Russia plays for reaching an agreement. According to the Foreign Minister, it is also necessary to decide on ceasefire mechanisms and exclude the resumption of fire in the future.

Azerbaijan, with help from Turkey, launched a large-scale offensive against Karabakh (Artsakh) in the morning of September 27, shelling Armenian positions and civilian settlements with large caliber weapons and rocket systems. Armenia and Karabakh have introduced martial law and total mobilization. The Armenian side has reported deaths and injuries both among the civilian population and the military. International and local journalists too have been injured in Azeri shelling of towns and villages, as well as the iconic Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi. A humanitarian ceasefire was supposed to begin from midday, October 10, but Azerbaijan has launched a new offensive and struck settlements both in Karabakh and Armenia.