YEREVAN. - A positive breakthrough will be achieved during the meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents in Kazan, MP from the ruling Republican Party of Armenia Gagik Melikyan told a press conference on Wednesday.

He stressed that the progress in the peace process will be acceptable both to the international community and peoples of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. “Any step ensuring a breakthrough in the negotiation process should be agreed with Karabakh authorities. Nagorno-Karabakh should soon sit at the negotiating table,” Melikyan stressed.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am reported earlier, Presidents of Russia, France and Armenia issued a joint statement on Nagorno-Karabakh within the framework of G8 Summit, on May 26.  

“We, the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group’s Co-Chair countries -- France, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America -- are convinced the time has arrived for all the sides to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to take a decisive step towards a peaceful settlement.

We reiterate that only a negotiated settlement can lead to peace, stability, and reconciliation, opening opportunities for regional development and cooperation.  The use of force created the current situation of confrontation and instability.  Its use again would only bring more suffering and devastation, and would be condemned by the international community.  We strongly urge the leaders of the sides to prepare their populations for peace, not war.

As a result of efforts by the parties and the Co-Chair countries at all levels, significant progress has been made.  The latest version of the Basic Principles, as discussed in Sochi on March 5, lays a just and balanced foundation for the drafting of a comprehensive peace settlement.  This document, based on the Helsinki Final Act and elements outlined in our joint declarations in L’Aquila in July 2009 and Muskoka in June 2010, provides a way for all sides to move beyond the unacceptable status quo.