YEREVAN—Nagorno-Karabakh will never be part of Azerbaijan, said Konstantin Zatulin, Director of Institute of Commonwealth of Independent States on Thursday.

Zatulin, who is in Yerevan to attending a joint session of the Russian, CIS Affairs and Armenian Parliament conference said that there could not be any scenario that would place Karabakh under Azerbaijani rule or a return to Soviet borders, “since no Soviet Azerbaijani exists.”

Speaking about the April war, Zatulin stressed that Russia condemns Azerbaijani actions and remains keen on eliminating distrust among the people of Armenia.

“We look to end those days, the sentiments in the Armenian public, doubting Russia’s partnership and relations. Steps taken by the heads of our countries are aimed at eliminating those suspicions. As you know the two ministers of defense signed an agreement on creating joint Russian and Armenian military forces. Aside from that, Armenia was provided with ‘Iskander’ missile system this summer. To note, this is the first case when such a system is transferred to other state and seeks to maintain the balance in the region,” explained Zatulin.

A Russian State Duma delegation led by Leonid Kalashnikov, Chairman of the Committee on for CIS, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots visited the Dzidzernagapert Memorial on Friday.

Russian lawmakers laid a wreath at the memorial to the Armenian Genocide victims and paid tribute to their memory with the observance of a moment of silence.

The guests visited the Armenian Genocide Museum Institute and became acquainted with the documents and testimonies of the Armenian Genocide.

“Innocent people keep dying today. It is necessary to combine efforts to prevent new universal tragedies,” Kalashnikov said.