Armenian, Azerbaijani, Russian foreign ministers discuss Karabakh settlement

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – MOSCOW (AA) – The Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Russian foreign ministers met on Tuesday in Moscow to discuss further steps regarding the Karabakh settlement.

Opening the meeting, Russia's top diplomat Sergey Lavrov said Moscow stands for the respect and implementation of all the trilateral agreements among the three countries.

Russia is interested in peace and stability in the South Caucasus, he said, adding: “Our efforts aimed at the stabilization of the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, seeking a solution of humanitarian problems, unblocking transport and economic ties, and development of contacts between people.”

For his part, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said although the negotiation process with Armenia is quite intensive, the results are not as expected and "there are more talks than results in settlement with Armenia."

"However, it would be wrong to say that there are no positive results at all. Today we will have the possibility to exchange views on the entire range of issues. And traditionally in this format, we along with the Armenian side focus on the remaining articles of the peace treaty," he noted.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said that on some issues there are concrete results, on others "prospects are seen," and there are also questions where the parties are "far from each other."

Mirzoyan said the Armenian delegation's attitude is "constructive," but the establishment of an Azerbaijani border point on the Lachin road "complicates" the talks.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

In the fall of 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages, and settlements from Armenian occupation during 44 days of clashes. The war ended with a Russia-brokered peace agreement.

Despite the ongoing talks on a peace agreement, tensions between the neighboring countries increased in recent months over the Lachin corridor, the only land route giving Armenia access to Karabakh.