Idea to Send Peacekeepers to Nagorno-Karabakh Out of Agenda - Russian Envoy

Sputnik News

09:18 30.06.2016

A peacekeeping operation could take place only after the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict's settlement, but it may happen only in the very long term, Russia's Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Alexander Lukashevich told Sputnik.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The idea to deploy a peacekeeping mission to the disputed border region of Nagorno-Karabakh is out of agenda, Russia's Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Alexander Lukashevich told Sputnik.

"There is a concept of peacekeeping operation in the area of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, approved back in the 1990s. But it is the final stage of the settlement and the idea is out of agenda since there is no settlement," Lukashevich said.

There is a working group in the OSCE, which has been adapting a scheme of potential peacekeeping operation, but its outcome is reflected only on draft maps, he added.

The peacekeeping operation could take place only after the settlement, but it may happen only in the very long term, Lukashevich noted.

The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic proclaimed its independence from Azerbaijan in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. After the military conflict ended in 1994, Baku lost control over the region mostly populated by the Armenians.

Violence erupted in Azerbaijan's breakaway area in April, leading to multiple casualties. The parties signed a Russian-brokered ceasefire in Moscow on April 5 but mutual accusations did not stop.

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