Russian, Armenian top diplomats discuss Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement

Sergey Lavrov meets with Armenian, Austrian, Hungarian counterparts on sidelines of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Ministerial Council meeting in North Macedonia

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday met with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan and discussed the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Ministerial Council meeting in Skopje, North Macedonia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The meeting of the 57 OSCE states, which is scheduled to last until Friday, is attended by around 40 countries.

"The Russian side confirmed its readiness to energetically promote the Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization on the basis of a set of trilateral agreements between the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia in 2020-2022, including the conclusion of a peace treaty between Yerevan and Baku," it said.

Separately, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said Mirzoyan "presented Armenia's position on the bilateral relations and regional agenda."

Baku-Yerevan relations have remained tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

Most of the territory was liberated by Azerbaijan during a war in the fall of 2020, which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement and also opened the door to normalization.

Azerbaijan established full sovereignty in Karabakh after an "anti-terrorism operation" in September this year, after which separatist forces in the region surrendered.

Meanwhile, Lavrov also spoke "on foot" with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, according to media reports -- at the request of the OSCE as an organization.

The ministers discussed the rotation of key OSCE posts, including the position of secretary-general, which is currently held by Helga Schmid, whose mandate expires on Sunday.

Lavrov also met with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto and the duo discussed a "wide range of topics presenting mutual interest."

Kaynak: