Former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev expressed hope that Russia would be able to help resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
"As for Karabakh...It is a very difficult issue going back to the old, deep-rooted past. When it escalated, we tried to help the two republics [of Armenia and Azerbaijan], the two peoples to find a solution. And later Russia also tried," said Gorbachev, who led the country in the late 1980s during the escalation of the Karabakh conflict, in an interview with RIA Novosti.
The former Soviet leader expressed confidence that now that the recent hostilities have ended, it is important not to stop and not to leave the problem unresolved for decades. "I hope Russia will be able to help, but the main role is played by the parties to the conflict. Armenia and Azerbaijan have pledged to hold talks on its settlement. The decision must be in the interests of both sides, without winners and losers," Gorbachev said.
Note, at Vladimir Putin’s initiative, on January 11, Moscow will host trilateral talks between the President of the Russian Federation, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.
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