A political settlement of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is possible; the proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group remain on the negotiating table. This statement came from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an interview with Russian media.

"Of course, a political settlement is possible. The proposals developed and continue to be developed by the Co-Chairs remain on the negotiating table, and their content is already known. It is the phased, gradual release of the regions around Nagorno-Karabakh—preserving and ensuring Karabakh's security guarantees before the final status of Karabakh and a reliable link between Armenia and Karabakh are determined," he said.

And when asked whether by this reliable link with Armenia he means two regions: the Lachin corridor, Lavrov said. "All the agreements that have been discussed recently and adopted by both sides presupposed that in the first phase five regions are envisioned to be released, and in the second phase—with the preservation of two regions—the status of Karabakh to be defined.

In the first phase, all communications, economic ties, transport communications had to be blocked and peacekeepers deployed to ensure the cessation of hostilities. The mechanism for deploying peacekeepers would be introduced on the actual line of contact; these are not the five regions that would be transferred in the first phase—according to the proposals. Now, if not the peacekeepers, then the military observers should be there. It would be right if it were our [Russian] military observers; but the final word is the [conflicting] parties’. "