YEREVAN. – Signing of a document on basic principles for the settlement of the Karabakh conflict is unlikely in the near future, said the head of Armenian Cause Office, Giro Manoyan.

According to him, the reason is diametrically opposite positions of the parties: Armenia will never agree to a document which does not set decision on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, while Azerbaijan will never agree to Karabakh independence.

He stressed that the OSCE mediators are in a hurry to coordinate positions of the parties on the basic principles before the elections in Armenia and Azerbaijan in order to launch work on drafting of peace agreement.

“However, the parties are hardly prepared for it. In addition, Nagorno-Karabakh should be returned to the negotiating table to agree on basic principles. It is not possible without participation of Stepanakert,” Manoyan told journalists on Friday.

Member of ARF Dashnaktsutyun party stressed that Russia does not intend to give up mediation efforts, adding that proposals conveyed by Russian FM Sergey Lavrov did not inspire the parties.