The upcoming Astana summit will give momentum to the resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said Head of the OSCE Conflict Prevention Center Herbert Salber, Trend News reports.

“It is unrealistic to expect to resolve the issue during the summit, but we expect to establish a positive atmosphere for improving relations,” Salber told a press conference in Astana.

According to him, the conflicting parties must decide on the issue themselves and “on our part, we can only help,” Kazakhstan Today reports.

“We need a realistic attitude toward the conflict, which has deep roots and a 20-year history,” Salber said.

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict cannot last long, he said, stressing the sides should come to a decision on the basis of a compromise.

On November  25-26, OSCE Misnk Grioup Co-Chairs Robert Bradtke (U.S), Igor Popov (Russia) and Bernard Fassier (France) paid a regional visit and held meetings with Armenian and Azerbaijani President and Foreign Ministers.

Yuri Popov and Robert Bradtke returned to Baku after the meetings in Yerevan to inform Baku of the meetings’ results with Armenian leadership. French Co-Chair Bernard Fassier flew to Paris to inform French leaders about the process of Karabakh conflict settlement.

The OSCE Summit will be held in Astana on Dec. 1-2 and. It will bring together the presidents and prime ministers of 56 OSCE member countries and 12 OSCE partner countries, as well as the heads of 68 international organizations.

Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents are expected to meet on the sidelines of the summit.