Russia urges not to protract the process of agreeing on basic principles of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution “To protract Nagorno-Karabakh peace process and to be engaged in the two countries’ rhetorical battles would be counter-productive,” Spokesperson for Russian Foreign Ministry Alexander Lukashevich said.  The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are expected to meet with Armenia’s President today. The international mediators visited Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh Republic earlier this week. As reported earlier, Presidents of Russia, France and Armenia issued a joint statement on Nagorno-Karabakh within the framework of G8 Summit. “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,” they said in a statement.  “We therefore call upon the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to demonstrate their political will by finalizing the Basic Principles during their upcoming summit in June. Further delay would only call into question the commitment of the sides to reach an agreement. Once an agreement has been reached, we stand ready to witness the formal acceptance of these Principles, to assist in the drafting of the peace agreement, and then to support its implementation with our international partners,” reads the statement posted on the website of the White House,” they said in a statement.  Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents are expected to meet in Kazan on June 25.