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The current pause in the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) talks are agreed with the upcoming snap parliamentary elections in Armenia, First Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee for CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots, Konstantin Zatulin told reporters in Armenia on Saturday.

Zatulin, who is taking part in the first plenary session of Lazarev Club launched in Yerevan on Friday, believes that no serious decisions will be adopted by Armenia and Azerbaijan until the domestic issues are dealt with.

Asked whether there are any guarantees that Azerbaijan will stop shooting and the negotiations will be really effective, the Russian official said he cannot provide any such guarantees. “It would be too pretentious on my part. I am a person who has been banned from entering Azerbaijan since 2010,” he said.

The Russian official pointed out the new sentiments in the conflict settlement process, referring to Armenia’s intention to return Artsakh to the negotiating table. “I think this is a difficult, but not impossible task. We had such a practice before,” Zatulin said.

Separately, he expressed hope that the Armenian-Russian relations will further continue to develop.