It is impossible to achieve the necessary result by exerting pressure on either of the parties to the Karabakh conflict, Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Vladimir Dorokhin said on May 27, when replying to the Azerbaijani students' remarks that either it is necessary to exert pressure on Armenia to make it leave Nagorno-Karabakh or Moscow should shut its eyes to Baku's attempts to annex Karabakh.
The official website of the Russian Embassy in Azerbaijan quotes Ambassador Dorokhin as saying, "I always give the same answer and that answer does not satisfy those who ask the question. But there is no other reply. I reiterate that it is for Azerbaijan and Armenia to resolve the conflict. Those who say that Russia can resolve the conflict within 15 or 20 minutes are wrong. Russia can only be a mediator. It is impossible to achieve the necessary result by exerting pressure on either of the parties. The settlement should be based on confidence. Only your countries can create that confidence".
At the same time, Dorokhin noted that the developments in early April once again demonstrated the danger of the current situation. It has become absolutely obvious that the peaceful settlement is the only reasonable solution.
"The conflicting parties and the international community should draw correct conclusions from this. Russia will also make conclusions and will speed up its mediation efforts," the diplomat said.
When asked about the Russian citizens' different attitude towards Armenians and Azerbaijanis, Dorokhin pointed at ethnic, religious, cultural and other factors. "Politics and economy matter. Armenia decided to become a military and political ally of Russia. It joined deep economic integration with out country. Azerbaijan has chosen another model - it is a partner without any military, political or economic obligations. We respect both choices. Both Azerbaijan and Armenia are important to us. We do not oppose these countries," the diplomat said.