Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister has welcomed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's stance on Bill recognizing Nagorno-Karabakh's independence.
In particular Lavrov said, "As far as discussing the recognition of Nagorno- Karabakh is concerned, it is not Armenia that is discussing it. This is a proposal by two members of Parliament. Under the law, the Government of Armenia, as they explained to everyone in an effort to mitigate the passions, must provide an analysis for this bill. I wouldn't ring the alarm at this point or panic. Yerevan clearly confirmed its commitment to a peaceful settlement when I visited Yerevan, spoke over the telephone with my Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandyan, and discussed the issue in Moscow after the events that occurred in early April. This means that Nagorno-Karabakh's status will be defined as part of a general agreement, not unilaterally."
Spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Hikmet Hajiyev said that Azerbaijan shares and endorses Sergey Lavrov's view that there is no need to panic about the initiative of the Armenian parliamentarians. In his words, Azerbaijan has always voiced its readiness for substantial talks pursuing "release of the occupied Azerbaijani territories."
Alarming that civilian population in Azerbaijan suffers from ceasefire violations, Hajiyev said: "Prevention of the ceasefire violations and creation of mechanisms to inquire into incidents must become an integral part of the process of withdrawal of the Armenian troops from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan." He said there is a road map on the settlement of the conflict.
Meantime, Yerevan together with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs has been insisting on creation of the mechanisms to inquire into incidents on the border and conditions for establishment of peace for a long time already, unlike Baku that has been denying the given proposals.