Armenia: Message to Turkey?: Russia, U.S. warn ‘external players’ against interfering in Karabakh

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned “external players” against interfering in the Nagorno-Karabakh issue as they discussed the latest developments in the conflict zone in a phone conversation on Monday.

The top diplomats reiterated their governments’ appeal for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Lavrov and Kerry voiced “serious concern at the escalation of the confrontation” and agreed that “Russia, the United States and France, as co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, will step up their efforts to foster a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”

“Sergey Lavrov and John Kerry condemned attempts by certain ‘external players’ to whip up the standoff around Karabakh,” it added without elaborating.

Lavrov also spoke about forces “keen to seriously complicate the settlement process” as he gave a press conference in Moscow earlier that day. He did not give names, but many analysts in Armenia and outside interpret it as a message primarily addressed to Turkey, with which Russia has been on loggerheads since last year over the situation in Syria.

Azerbaijan and its ally Turkey have repeatedly criticized the United States, Russian and French mediators for purportedly siding with Armenia in their activities as go-betweens in the Karabakh conflict settlement.

Meanwhile, loss of life continued in the conflict zone late on Monday as the sides issued conflicting reports about the situation on the ground.

In particular, Nagorno-Karabakh’s Defense Ministry denied that Azerbaijan captured the strategically important village of Mataghis in the northeast of Karabakh.

The OSCE Minsk Group is meeting in Vienna, Austria, on April 5 to discuss the latest developments in Nagorno-Karabakh.

It also emerged on Monday that the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan will attend a meeting of Commonwealth of Independent States (former Soviet countries) foreign ministers that is scheduled to be held in Moscow, Russia, on April 8.

It is not yet clear whether the top diplomats plan a separate meeting to discuss the latest upsurge in violence in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. 

Read more: Message to Turkey?: Russia, U.S. warn ‘external players’ against interfering in Karabakh - News | ArmeniaNow.com

Armenian President Promises Security after election victory

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan promised  Tuesday to make the country secure and stable after cruising to victory in an election that international vote monitors said lacked real competition.

But Sargsyan, 58, faces a challenge in his second five-year term to prevent tensions increasing with Azerbaijan over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh that could lead to a new war in the South Caucasus, where pipelines carry Caspian oil and gas to Europe.

Preliminary results showed Sargsyan won 58.6 percent of the votes cast in Monday's election, enough to avoid a second-round run-off. His closest rival, U.S.-born former Foreign Minister Raffi Hovannisian, trailed on nearly 37 percent.

International observers said the election was an improvement on last year's, in which 10 people were killed. But "the limited field of candidates meant that the election was not genuinely competitive," representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said in a statement.

Read more: Armenian President Promises Security | News | The Moscow Times

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: Russian Federation Council denies information in Armenian media

Russia has stated that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can only be resolved through peaceful negotiations. Its participants must be guided by international law and relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council, the Russian Federation Council said in connection with the information of Armenian media about a statement on Nagorno-Karabakh, allegedly made ​​by Valentina Matvienko in Yerevan.

According to some Armenian media publications, chairperson of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko made alleged remarks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement. It necessary to clarify Russia's position on this issue, which was voiced by the speaker at meetings with representatives of Armenian leadership and during the conversation with journalists within an official visit of the delegation of the Federation Council in Yerevan on July 11, 2012, a statement said.

"The solution of the conflict must take into account the interests of Armenia and Azerbaijan," the statement said today. "It must be based on the observance of well-known principles - non-use of force, respect for territorial integrity, equality and respect people's right to self-determination. Therefore, we believe it is important for the parties to consistently bring positions together, while overcoming the accumulated deficit of trust."

Read more: Russian Federation Council denies information in Armenian media - Trend