Spokesman to Foreign Ministry of Russia Federation Andrey Nesterenko said that Russia does not correlates the process of resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh problem and the process of normalization of Turkey-Armenia relations.

Andrey Nesterenko refuted the reports in the media about the change in the attitude of Russia on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement process and said, “That is a misunderstanding. Russia’s attitude on Nagorno-Karabakhis for several times explained by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The same attitude is still in effect. The processes of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution and normalization of Turkey-Armenia relations are seperate.”

Stressing that Russia welcomes the agreement between Turkey and Armenia, Nesterenko said, “Establishment of good relations between Turkey and Armenia will certainly contribute peace and security in the Caucasus. And if we should mention Nagorno-Karabakh, Moscow considers that the responsibility of resolution of the problem belongs to Azerbaijan and Armenia. Russia is ready to support the resettlement process.”

The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia began in 1988 when Armenia claimed that Armenian population is more than Azerbaijani population. Armenia started to make territorial claims against Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan andthe disputeturned into an armed conflict in 1992 and till the ceasefire in 1994 Armenia occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan. Co-chairs of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group — Russia, France and USA, are currently mediating between Azerbaijan and Armenia towards resolution of the problem by peaceful methods.