Nagorno-Karabakh cannot take part in negotiations between Armenia and
Azerbaijan as an individual side, because Azerbaijan considers it to
be its own territory, the head of the fourth department for CIS
countries of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andrey Kelin
said. He said that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is more complicated
than the Abkhaz and South Ossetian conflicts. It takes political will to act in accordance with the Madrid principles, Kelin said, RIA Novosti reports.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev believes that he can play a
constructive role in settling the conflict. Armenia is a Russian ally
as a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation and
Azerbaijan is a strategic partner, Medvedev said.
Azerbaijan has initiated a commission to evaluate the state of affairs
on the occupied Azerbaijani territories. On their last visit to the
region the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group analyzed the situation.
They are expected to prepare a report about the occupied territories.
