Russia hopes Sochi summit to help move toward peace between Baku and Yerevan

Russia hopes that a three-party summit in Sochi due on October 31 will make it possible to make some progress toward a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said.

"There still are a lot of problems. I think all of them will be discussed, including during tomorrow’s meeting in Sochi. We hope that it will make it possible to make some progress toward settling a range of issues, including a peace treaty," he said.

Commenting on Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s statement that a peace treaty could be signed by the yearend, Rudenko noted that "anything may happen in this life." "And once the [Armenian] leader said it, he may probably have some reasons for that," he added.