May 21, 2005 - 10:45 AMT
RUSSIA WILL RECOGNIZE ANY AGREEMENT OF PARTIES OVER KARABAKH ISSUE
Russia will recognize any agreement of the parties over the Karabakh issue and Russia's stand lies in the parties coming to an agreement themselves, Konstantin Zatulin stated in an interview with Echo Baku newspaper. In his words, if is it a voluntary agreement on providing independence to Karabakh, Russia will recognize it. "If Karabakh decides sometimes to agree to be an autonomy as part of Azerbaijan, though I personally do not believe it, we will also recognize this decision," he noted and emphasized that any decision of the parties is that of theirs. "Today Russia is unambiguously against resumption of hostilities in Karabakh settlement. Undoubtedly, in today's situation it is a guarantee for Armenia and, if you wish, for Azerbaijan: we welcome the negotiation process and not at all the resumption of hostilities by any of the parties," he noted. In his words, the plans of the Armenian party do not include resumption of hostilities and if the Azeri party does not have them either, there is nothing to speak about.