Lavrov: Almost all components of Karabakh conflict settlement agreement are on the table

 Almost all components of the Karabakh conflict settlement agreement are on the table, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at today's joint briefing with his Azerbaijani and Iranian counterparts in Baku.       

He said that Russia is most of all interested in the settlement of the conflict. He added that sooner resolution of the conflict stems from all parties' interests. Given the explosive situation, all parties should speed up efforts towards political resolution of the conflict.    

For his part, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov expressed his gratitude to Iran for its efforts towards establishment of peace in the region.   
"Iran is also exerting efforts to ensure the observance of the ceasefire in the Karabakh conflict zone. We highly appreciate this step. My Russian counterpart and I thoroughly discussed the current situation. I suppose there are clear proposals for the conflict settlement and they are included in the agenda," he said.    

Mammadyarov said that very often journalists call this conflict frozen, however, such wordings are incorrect. He thinks that it is important to find a solution to the conflict because each minute of the settlement delay results in human losses. 

"Today we see that the status quo is not only unstable but also unacceptable. The tension will remain as long as the problem is unresolved," Mammadyarov said. "The troops must return to the barracks and at the same time it is necessary to create mechanisms to investigate the incidents along with withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories," he said.    

For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif qualified the ceasefire in the conflict zone as a good sign. He also urged the parties to resolve the conflict by means of negotiations with due regard for international standards and UN principles.