President Serzh Sarkisian meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday in Yerevan

YEREVAN—Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, visited Yerevan and Baku on Friday to deliver his president Dmitry Medvedev’s new proposals on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to the two sides.

Details of the new proposals were not immediately made public, but Lavrov noted that Medvedev took into consideration the issues discussed last month at a summit he hosted with presidents Serzh Sarkisian and Ilham Aliyev in the Russian city of Kazan.

President Sarkisian promised to study the proposal thoroughly and to provide Armenia’s response in a timely manner, according to the presidential press office.

“We want the conflict to be resolved and resolved in a way which will bring ultimate peace and stability to the region,” Sarkisian reportedly told Lavrov during their meeting Friday.

Lavrov expressed confidence that there was momentum for an agreement.

Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian told Lavrov during their meeting in Yerevan that an agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh would be possible only if Azerbaijan gave up a number of amendments it suggested during the Kazan meeting.

“If Azerbaijan drops its amendments—its ten amendments [suggested] in Kazan—then an agreement is possible,” Nalbandian told Lavrov.

The Russian foreign minister then traveled to Baku where he presented the same document to Aliyev.

Lavrov announced Medvedev’s intentions to propose a new package for the Karabakh peace talks after meeting Nalbandian Wednesday in Moscow.

“Moscow remains committed to an array of agreements that were earlier endorsed by the Presidents of the United States, France, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia,” said Lavrov, referring to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at press conference in Moscow Wednesday.

Lavrov warned against attempts to change the format of the negotiations headed by the OSCE Minsk Group, which brings together Russia, the US and France. Lavrov’s sentiments were echoed by Nalbandian, who touted the Minsk Group as an effective mechanism to contribute to the negotiating process.

“The change of the formant of settlement of the Karabakh conflict would not be an effective choice at this moment and would divert the attention from the core of the issue,” said Lavrov at a joint press conference with Nalbandian.

Lavrov underlined that the Minsk Group Co-Chairs, who have become a real tool in the negotiation process, are working hard to search for ways of settlement not only within the framework of the negotiation process, but also in the direction of reinforcement of trust and security along the line of contact. “We think it’s time to make a decision,” Lavrov said.