MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Armenian government on Thursday approved the draft law on recognition of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) and sent it for the consideration by the local parliament.
"No, it was not discussed with Moscow. We are very closely monitoring the decisions that are being made in this context. And, of course, we still expect that the parties to the conflict will avoid any steps that could disrupt the rather fragile ceasefire and lead to escalation of tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh," Peskov said, answering a question whether Moscow had been involved in a discussion on the draft bill on NKR's recognition by Armenia.
The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988, when the autonomous region sought to secede from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, before proclaiming independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The warring sides agreed to a cessation of hostilities in 1994.