Top Russian, Armenian diplomats meet in Astana, talks pacts with Azerbaijan

By Burc Eruygur

ANKARA (AA) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan met on Wednesday in the Kazakh capital Astana.

Their meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the Ministerial Council meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), focused on the implementation of trilateral agreements involving Azerbaijan, Armenia’s neighbor in the South Caucasus.

Lavrov said Russia is ready to contribute to the implementation of trilateral agreements signed between the Russian, Azerbaijani, and Armenian leaders, and discuss necessary steps for their swift implementation.

The European Union has decided to send a mission to the Azerbaijani-Armenian border, Mirzoyan noted during the meeting.

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

Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages, and settlements from a nearly 30-year Armenian occupation in a fall 2020 conflict, which ended after a Moscow-brokered truce. The peace agreement is celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan.

The two-day CIS Ministerial Council meeting is set to conclude tomorrow.