ArmInfo. Only Armenia or Azerbaijan at this stage can initiate the issue of introducing peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as negotiations on the OSCE Minsk Group. This opinion was expressed on September 30 by the head of the Russian Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Konstantin Kosachev.
''As for peacekeeping in a broader context (for example, theoretically blue UN helmets or some kind of forces through the OSCE), then all this is a subject of consideration at the collective level, here discussions need to be held through the OSCE Minsk Group, which has a corresponding mandate of the UN. But even here, in my deep conviction, no initiative, at least at this stage, taking into account the current nature of the situation, should come from anyone else except Armenia or Azerbaijan, if we are talking about a broader context of the Minsk Group and UN peacekeepers, "Kosachev told reporters, TASS reports.
He noted that, according to the CSTO statutory documents, the starting point for launching any procedures through the organization is the appeal of the corresponding country, "if it considers itself an object of aggression." "As long as the Armenian side does not show its initiative, any reasoning on this topic [the introduction of peacekeepers into Nagorno-Karabakh], in my opinion, is absolutely unnecessary. If such an appeal appears, if the Armenian side submits justifications that confirm such a request, then this is again a subject of collective discussions in the CSTO, this should not be the sole [decision] of the Russian side or any other country - a member of the CSTO, "added senator.