Karabakh conflict will not be resolved, if there are no compromises, Russian State Duma lawmaker Konstantin Zatulin said during Yerevan-Moscow videoconference on Tuesday.

According to him, deals between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as between Azerbaijan and Karabakh are necessary for peaceful settlement of Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan should recognize the independence of Karabakh, and the Armenian side should return a number of Azerbaijani territories that were occupied during the conflict by the self-defense forces of Karabakh, Zatulin said.

"I think that lasting peace in the region cannot be achieved if Azerbaijan continues to demand the return of Karabakh, and if Armenia does not return Azerbaijani occupied regions," he stressed.

According to the lawmaker, Azerbaijan no longer controlled Karabakh by the time of Soviet Union’s collapse and in fact attempts to show that Karabakh belongs to independent Azerbaijan are doubtful even from the legal point of view.

As for the situation in the conflict zone, Zatulin believes that the absence of bad news is already good news, after all what happened in 2016.

"No breakthrough should be expected in Karabakh conflict settlement. All efforts are directed to exclude the escalation of the conflict and bloodshed," he summed up.