Russia announces trilateral meeting with Azerbaijan, Armenia on Monday

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The Kremlin on Friday announced a trilateral meeting of Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders in the resort city of Sochi on Monday.

"On the initiative of the Russian side, trilateral talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will take place in Sochi on Oct.31," a Kremlin statement said.

Putin, Aliyev and Pashinyan plan to review the implementation of the trilateral agreements on Karabakh signed in 2020 and 2021 and further steps to strengthen stability and security in Southern Caucasus, the statement said.

"Issues of restoration and development of trade, economic and transport ties will also be discussed," it added.

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.

In the fall of 2020, in 44 days of clashes, Baku liberated several cities, villages, and settlements from Armenian occupation, ending in a Moscow-brokered truce. The peace agreement is celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan.