An attempt to hastily conclude a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan at the expense of careful preparations and planning will only lead to more conflicts in the future, Head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Fourth CIS Department Denis Gonchar told TASS in an interview.
“A hastily concocted, raw peace treaty will not be able to bring about a lasting peace in the region. On the contrary, it will create potential grounds for new conflicts and future tragedies. It is not speed that should be viewed as a priority, but, instead, a careful preparation of balanced and mutually acceptable solutions,” the diplomat said.
Gonchar noted that a number of Western countries claim that Baku and Yerevan may sign a peace treaty almost as early as in coming weeks or months.
In the Russian diplomat’s opinion, the timeframe for the signing should be determined by the sides themselves.
“A responsible mediator’s task is not to expedite the negotiating process for the sake of timeserving considerations, but to facilitate solid and long-lasting agreements,” Gonchar added.
Official, full text of the interview with the Director of the Fourth Department of the CIS countries of the Russian Foreign Ministry Denis Gonchar
Text in Russian language
