Former USSR leader Mikhail Gorbachev expressed hope that Russia will be able to help resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and that, according to him, the main role here belongs to Armenia and Azerbaijan. It is necessary to find a solution in the interests of both sides – “without winners-losers”, RIA Novosti reports.

“As for Karabakh… It is a very difficult issue, going back to the old, deep-rooted past. When it escalated, we tried to help the two republics, the two peoples, find a solution. And later Russia also tried. “Now that hostilities have ceased, it is possible not to stop, not to leave the issue unresolved for decades,” said Gorbachev, who led the country during the escalation of the Karabakh conflict in the late 1980s.

“I hope Russia will be able to help, but the key players are the parties to the conflict. Armenia and Azerbaijan have pledged to hold talks on its settlement. The decision must be in the interests of both sides, without winners and losers,” Gorbachev said.