Official representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry Andrey Nesterenko said that Russia, France and the U.S., as Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, issued a joint statement on the Karabakh conflict settlement.

“I can add that Moscow supports the principle of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, as well as other basic norms and principles of the international law. It is known that we do not recognize Nagorno Karabakh as an independent state. We strongly believe that its future status should be determined without application of force, as a result of political negotiations among all parties within the framework of the Minsk process. Besides, Moscow does not think that the process of the conflict’s peace settlement could depend on holding elections in Nagorno Karabakh. As for Russia, in close interaction with its partners in the OSCE Minsk Group (Russia, France and the U.S.), it will continue assisting Azerbaijanis and Armenians in finding a compromise in the Karabakh issue,” Nesterenko said in his comments on the parliamentary elections in Nagorno Karabakh on May 23, 2010.