On 1 September, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke about the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in front of the MGIMO students. He said that the documents on the settlement of the conflict contain a solution that will ensure justice for both sides, reported Vestnikkavkaza.

“Our line is based on the set of documents that have been developed over almost 18 years. There are the so-called ‘Madrid principles,’ and also updated versions of documents that were approved by the parties as a basis for further work. These documents have been deposited in the OSCE Secretariat. Suggestions have been voiced saying that it is necessary to abandon these documents and start from scratch, or even launch some kind of plan 'B',” he stated.

“We believe that this will be a big mistake and are convinced that what has been achieved over these years should remain the basis of our future efforts. I will not describe in detail what is agreed there. This is a fairly confidential part of the job. But I can assure you that there is a denouement that will ensure justice for both the Armenian and the Azerbaijani representatives,” Lavrov stressed.

He recalled that the co-chairs, Russia, the USA, and France, “were empowered to work daily to create the necessary atmosphere in which the parties themselves could find generally acceptable agreements.” “We don’t write scenarios for solving the problem, but we create conditions so that the parties could agree among themselves,” he added. Lavrov also said several incidents took place which have seriously increased tensions and didnot contribute to a positive role for the efforts of the co-chairs to be successful in creating the proper atmosphere. 

On 26 August, Lavrov held a meeting in Moscow with Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov where the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was discussed. He also held a phone conversation with his Armenian counterpart Zohrab Mnatsakanyan prior to the meeting with Bayramov (Caucasus Watch reported).