STEPANAKERT.- The Foreign Ministry of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic supports the statement of presidents of Russia, U.S. and France on Karabakh settlement made in Los Cabos. Foreign Ministry issued the following statement:

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic supports the joint statement of the Presidents of Russia, the USA, and France on the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict issued in Los Cabos.

We always had a positive attitude to such initiatives aimed at a peaceful solution to the issue, taking into account all the principles of international law, and reaffirm our readiness to follow the appeals and recommendations of the leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing states.

At the same time, we have to state that the Azerbaijani party continues to interpret the statement of the mediators in a way favorable for itself and to set pre-conditions, thus torpedoing these initiatives. Azerbaijan continues to boycott the implementation of key confidence-building measures in the region, such as elaboration of corresponding mechanisms for investigating the incidents at the borderline, withdrawal of snipers from the contact-line, and others.

Unfortunately, official Baku hasn’t refused yet of the initially assumed force method of solving the conflict. Azerbaijan, representing a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, the responsibilities of which include fighting for the security in the region, refuses of civilized ways of solving the issue.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic expresses hope that this time the authorities of Azerbaijan will display constructivism and abandon their futile policy of military-force blackmail and sabotage threatening the fragile regional security and stability.

We believe that only through a political dialogue, with the equal participation of the Nagorno-Karabakh party, it is possible to achieve progress in the negotiations on the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict settlement and to establish lasting peace in the region.”