BAKU. May 31 (Interfax-AVN) - Azerbaijan has expressed its support for a Russian proposal for peacekeeping forces to be stationed in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone "in the near future."
"Peacekeeping forces may appear in the Karabakh conflict zone in the near future in order to guarantee the implementation of political agreements," Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said during a visit to Baku.
"The eight to 10 settlement components that are currently under discussion include a set of security measures. The stationing of peacekeepers in the conflict zone cannot be ruled out as part of this set," Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Tair Tagizade said.
Tagizade said that, under a preliminary agreement, the peacekeepers must not represent any of the countries in the region nor must they represent Russia, the United States or France, the countries co-heading the Minsk Group, an Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe body appointed to mediate in the conflict.