Russia tries to organize meeting between Armenian and Azerbaijani  presidents 

ArmInfo.Russia is trying to organize a meeting between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev, by the end of this year. Moscow 

became the main mediator in this matter, as attempts by the other 

co-chairs of OSCE Minsk Group on Karabakh (USA and France) to seize 

the representatives of Baku and Yerevan failed at the negotiating 

table. This was reported to Izvestia by a high-ranking source at the 

Russian Foreign Ministry.

According to the source, familiar with the course of Nagorno-Karabakh 

settlement, Moscow deals with organization of a meeting between the 

leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan. "This is the only thing we are 

participating in. The French tried to get Yerevan and Baku to sit at 

the negotiating table, but it did not bring any benefit, while 

maintaining the dialogue is of fundamental importance, which is why a 

full-scale war did not break out in the region, still different, "the 

interlocutor   in the foreign affairs department of Russia said.

The head of Duma committee on CIS affairs, Eurasian integration and 

relations with compatriots Leonid Kalashnikov believes that the 

summit is now more urgent than ever. "It's not just necessary, it's 

very necessary, and we do not have to run around in different formats 

and sites, consult with countries that are 10,000 km from the 

region." The neighbors need to agree, and in this sense, we need to 

strengthen coordination with Moscow. Which is why I welcome such  

meeting, but this will give a positive impetus, I advocate the speedy 

conduct of negotiations between the leaders of Azerbaijan and 

Armenia, first of all, these countries, " Russian parliamentarian 

Izvestia told.  On July 11, Russian MFA leader Sergey Lavrov held 

meetings with his Azerbaijani and Armenian colleagues Elmar 

Mammedyarow and Edward Nalbandian. The consultations took place in 

Austrian Mauerbach on the margins of informal meeting of the foreign 

ministers of OSCE countries.

Meanwhile, Armenian Foreign Ministry highly appreciated Russia's 

mediation efforts and noted the importance of the negotiation 

process. <Izvestia> official representative of the diplomatic mission 

Tigran Balayan said. "Armenia has never refused to negotiate and 

meet, since negotiations are the only way to settle, it is worth 

mentioning that it was thanks to Russia's efforts that the 

painstaking work of Ambassador Vladimir Kazimirov 23 years ago 

managed to achieve the establishment of a ceasefire regime. The co- 

chairs, with Russia's most active participation, initiated hundreds 

of meetings at the level of heads of state, foreign ministers, 

"Tigran Balayan said.

In Azerbaijan, too, they do not see insurmountable obstacles for 

organizing a meeting of the two leaders. A member of the committee on 

international relations and inter-parliamentary relations of the 

country's parliament, Nazim Asim Mollazade, told Izvestia that 

negotiations would be held if their agenda was clearly formulated. 

"If there is something to discuss, the meeting of the presidents will 

take place, but I would not expect any great results from it." 

Negotiations on the status quo, withdrawal of troops from the 

territory of Karabakh, the conversation will be pointless. Russia to 

the negotiation process, "the Azerbaijani parliamentarian said.