BOCHAROV RUCHEY (SOCHI), August 10 (RIA Novosti) – A trilateral meeting between the presidents of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan focused on the current situation in Nagorno-Karabakh started Sunday in the Bocharov Ruchey residence in Russia's southern resort city of Sochi.
The meeting comes amid sharp ratcheting up of tensions along the contact line of Nagorno-Karabakh with Azerbaijan which led to casualties on the both sides.
On Saturday, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian leader Serzh Sargsyan held separate meetings with Vladimir Putin. During the negotiations the warring sides exchanged opinions on the situation in the region. Aliyev said that the conflict has dragged on and required an immediate solution and Sargsyan blamed the Azari side for “intentional escalation of the situation.”
Moscow in its turn also expressed concerns about the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, which, according to Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov remains “tense and volatile.”
According to the Defense Ministry of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, recent attacks in the past days have claimed the lives of 25 Azeri and five Armenian soldiers. The Azeri side insists it has lost 12 servicemen.
The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh has not abated since 1988 when the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region with predominantly ethnic Armenian population announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic.
Following armed actions in 1992-1994 that left some 30,000 people dead Azerbaijan lost control over Karabakh and the adjacent territories. Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence but does not participate in negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan which are still technically at war after a conflict over the disputed region.
A ceasefire was agreed on in 1994, but a permanent peace deal has still not been signed. Since 1992, the OSCE Minsk Group and its co-chairs Russia, France and the United States have been negotiating a lasting and peaceful settlement of the conflict.
