Russia stresses support for peaceful solution to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Russia will continue to support a peaceful solution to the current conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Kremlin said here Thursday.

"Of course, at this time, at various levels, a lot of work has been carried out in order to stop the fire ... Moscow will continue its same policy," Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"Russia maintains good relations with both Yerevan and Baku, and uses these relationships to create the conditions to work bilaterally and through international means," he said.

Peskov's remarks came two days after Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to a cease-fire in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The two countries have been locked in a bitter dispute over the mountainous region. Conflict first broke out in 1988, when the enclave dominated by ethnic Armenians claimed independence from Azerbaijan and declared to join Armenia.

Peace talks have been held since 1994 when a cease-fire was reached, but there have been occasional minor clashes.

Recent hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh flared up overnight Saturday with the two countries blaming each other for triggering the escalation.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for the resumption of negotiations between Baku and Yerevan with the assistance of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to seek a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

Russia would play an intermediary role in the normalization of the situation, he said, adding that all sides agreed to keep contact in different formats. Endi