Karabakh settlement requires multi-level dialogue - Shvydkoi
BAKU. May 30 (Interfax) - Azerbaijan and Armenia should develop humanitarian contacts to foster the Karabakh conflict settlement, Special Envoy of the Russian President for International Cultural Cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoi said.
"Nobody wants a war. Development of humanitarian contacts is very important to us because no matter what decisions are made it is essential they are made by the people," he told reporters in Baku on Thursday.
A dialogue between national administrations and societies is needed for settling the Karabakh problem, Shvydkoi said. "I am positive that any contacts between public organizations, between civil societies also have paramount importance," he stressed.
"People must understand why particular decisions have been made," Shvydkoi added.
The Russian presidential envoy said he expected some progress to be made after the Azeri presidential election in October 2013. "Although, they should not waste time because the public in Azerbaijan, Armenia and the international community are waiting for normalization steps," he said.
"I want to say once again that any efforts of the sort are welcome. The Russian position is clear - we want stability in the South Caucasus and stability in interstate relations, because we have strategic friendship with Armenia and strategic friendship with Azerbaijan. Stability is crucial for us. I hope that common sense will win in the end," Shvydkoi said.