Armenia Expresses Readiness to Normalize Relations With Azerbaijan

YEREVAN (Sputnik) - Yerevan is ready for a comprehensive settlement with Azerbaijan, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said at a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov.

The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan held a meeting mediated by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on September 19 as part of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.

"During the meeting, Ararat Mirzoyan stressed that the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan must be withdrawn from the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, the use of force or the threat of force is unacceptable," the Armenian Foreign Ministry said.

"Mirzoyan confirmed the readiness of the Armenian side to participate in the process of a comprehensive settlement of relations," it said.

On September 12, hostilities broke out on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, with both states accusing each other of aggression. Both countries reported losses among military personnel. By next morning, the sides agreed on a ceasefire.

Head of the Russian Federation Council's Foreign Affairs Committee Grigory Karasin told Sputnik the ceasefire was achieved thanks to the efforts of Russia, including after a conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and the work of the Russian Foreign Ministry. According to the senator, there is a lot of work to be done, since Yerevan applied to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).