Russia"s Foreign Minister confirms the meeting of presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Sochi

 The OSCE Minsk Group has made significant efforts  so that the the sides to the Karabakh conflict adopt a document outlining the principles of political settlement,  said in his interview with Itar-Tass, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

  "Certainly, it is  alarming  what happens on the so-called contact line (in Nagorno-Karabakh), - he said. - The parties accuse each other of provocative actions, this has happened before and, unfortunately, for many years we have seen periodic outbreaks, but this time it all seemed particularly acutely perceived and presented.

Many people died, and we, along with other countries, including the OSCE Minsk Group, along with Russia is the United States and France, urged the parties to exercise maximum restraint and avoid any action which might lead to another manifestation of violence ".

"At the end of this week in Sochi are planned  our separate meetings with Armenian President, and then President of Azerbaijan, and when they will be in one place at one time, perhaps,  there will be a talk about the Nagorno-Karabakh, Lavrov said.

Russia, on behalf of the OSCE Minsk Group, will speak with the parties to help build confidence and reduce the risk of confrontation, Lavrov added. "We, as one of the countries of the OSCE Minsk Group, taking a lot of effort, together with our American and French partners to help solve those still several questions that still prevent the conclusion of a document outlining the political principles of the settlement, the parties formed a package acceptable for them."

"It is not easy to make it,  there were many attempts in this regard,  and each time it seemed that we reached the important milestone, when there is an agreement, but something prevented. Therefore, I will not make predictions," said Lavrov. -16D-