Armenia, Azerbaijan Far From Agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh Issue - Lavrov

Armenia and Azerbaijan are far from agreeing on common approach to a number of key aspects of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — He noted, however, the understanding reached regarding most aspects of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Lavrov mentioned among them the humanitarian and security issues as well as aspects of defining the status of Nagorno-Karabakh and returning the regions which are not controlled by Azerbaijan in this area.

"Two-three specific topics, which are crucial for the final package [of agreements] are still being discussed. And, I'm not going to lie, we are still far from seeing the two sides agree on a common approach to these aspects," Lavrov said after the negotiations with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov.

He also expressed hope for the settlement of the conflict.

Lavrov and Mammadyarov met earlier on Monday as part of the Azerbaijani foreign minister’s official state visit to Moscow. The visit is timed to the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Azerbaijan, on April 4, 2017.

The hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh erupted in April 2016, followed by the conclusion of the Russian-brokered ceasefire. The warring parties have not stopped mutual accusations of the ceasefire violation.