ST. PETERSBURG. April 14 (Interfax) - Russia is making all possible efforts to secure the prompt signing of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan as part of the trilateral agreement, Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said.
"Russia has made and continues to make all possible efforts [to secure] the signing of a peace treaty as soon as possible, as part of the trilateral agreement signed previously by the leaders of the three countries," Matviyenko said at a briefing following the summer session of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly on Friday.
Armenian National Assembly President Alen Simonyan and Azerbaijani Milli Mejlis Speaker Sahiba Gafarova also took part in the briefing. They had to sit next to each other because the names of the countries were listed in alphabetical order.
Simonyan said that Armenia wants to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, and is ready to withdraw its troops from the border. He also called on the Azerbaijani side "to cease making territorial claims to Armenia."
Gafarova, in turn, described Armenia's accusations of occupation as groundless, and called on the country to return to the negotiating table and continue working on a peace treaty.