Yerevan /Mediamax. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stated today that there should not have been any illusions in Armenia about the seven regions around Nagorno-Karabakh.

TASS reports he stated the following in an interview with Russian and foreign media:

“There should not have been any illusions that the seven regions around Nagorno-Karabakh could forever remain in the position they were one, one and a half, or two months ago. I believe the responsible authorities were obliged to explain to the population that at some stage, this settlement would have to be implemented according to the principles that have been on the table for many years, which were proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs and which opened, I believe, the ideal way to resolve this conflict without any bloodshed,” stated Lavrov.

Touching on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, he said:

“We take as the basis that the status should depend on what efforts we should all make to help restore the ethnic and religious discord in Nagorno-Karabakh the way it was for many years until the war broke out, which ended with bad consequences.”

“There must be no artificial term for determination of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh,” he added.