Sergey Lavrov: The Co-Chairmen have no instrument but  political-diplomatic means   

ArmInfo.Moscow is ready to promote steps that will create optimal conditions for constructive talks on the Karabakh settlement together with French and American  colleagues and partners. On February 22 at a joint press conference  with his Armenian colleague, said the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei  Lavrov, in response to a question about how intermediaries will  implement the Vienna and St. Petersburg agreement which was rejected  by Azerbaijan.

"The Co-Chairmen have no other instrument but the political and  diplomatic means. We are ready together with our French and American  partners to actively promote steps that will create optimal  conditions for constructive negotiations, which will discharge  clearly not the best emotional atmosphere that reigns around the  Nagorno-Karabakh settlement and the steps that would allow to  consider the proposals for the settlement of the conflict by  negotiating, which the Russian side promote and actively support with  the French and American Co-Chairmen", he said.

In his turn, the Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian said  that Baku violates the agreements reached in Vienna, St. Petersburg  and Astrakhan. "Not only Astrakhan, there were two meetings in Sochi  and signed declaration on the establishment, including incident  investigation mechanism. We and the international community do not  get used to it, but there is no alternative. We will work together  with the Co-Chairmen to continue the efforts on mine settlement of  the conflict in primarily on the creation of conditions for the  continuation of the negotiation process", said the Minister.

According to him, Armenia has always complied with the agreements,  including Astrakhan, concerning the handover of prisoners and mortal  remains. "Recently We returned to the body of the Azerbaijani  commandos, who killed three soldiers in the territory of Armenian",  he said, noting that after the body handover, by a special  presidential decree the saboteur was declared a national hero. "The  wording is interesting: for the successful execution of the task.  That is, given the task to carry out sabotage and thus called a  hero", the minister said, noting that the Azerbaijani side has  demanded the return of the body of a saboteur as a humanitarian  gesture by the Armenian side. "It is strange to hear about the  humanism of Azerbaijan", said Nalbandian, reminding about the torture  of the lost Armenian shepherd Manvel Saribekyan and the case of the  downed helicopter. "For many days Azerbaijanis kept under fire the  area where the helicopter fell to prevent the evacuation of maybe  still alive people", he said.

To recall, on June 20th, in St. Petersburg, under the mediation of  Russian President Vladimir Putin a meeting of the heads of Armenia  and Azerbaijan was held. Due to its results, the sides issued a joint  statement in which, in particular, noted that the presidents of  Azerbaijan and Armenia confirmed the Armenian-Azerbaijani agreements  reached at the last summit in Vienna on May 16, which aimed at  stabilizing the situation in the conflict zone and the creation of an  atmosphere for advancing in the peace process. To this end, they  agreed, to increase the number of international observers in the  conflict zone, as well as to implement mechanisms of incidents  investigation. Meanwhile, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated  that the investigation mechanisms at this stage of the settlement are  not relevant and the matter may be investigated after the "withdrawal  of Armenian troops from Nagorno-Karabakh". In addition, he also  stressed that the office of the OSCE chairman can be extended up to  12-13 people and more.