Foreign Ministers of Russia, Armenia Discuss Conflict Settlement in Karabakh

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks in Moscow with his Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyan, to discuss the implementation of trilateral agreements between Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, the Russian foreign ministry said on Monday.

"Commitment to the comprehensive implementation of the agreements of the leaders of Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan signed on November 9, 2020, January 11, and November 26, 2021, was reaffirmed. Further steps in the context of unblocking all economic and transport communications, work on delimitation and demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, as well as working out the parameters of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan were also discussed," the ministry said in a statement.

In addition, the parties discussed the schedule of upcoming contacts at the highest and high levels and interaction within the framework of integration mechanisms, such as the Eurasian Economic Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and the Collective Security Treaty Organization, as well as foreign policy coordination at international platforms, including the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

The long-standing conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh flared up in September 2020, marking the most serious escalation of a protracted standoff in years. The hostilities ended with a Moscow-brokered trilateral declaration signed in November 2020. Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to completely cease fire and exchange prisoners. The Kalbajar, Lachin, and part of the Agdam District were handed over to Azerbaijan. Russian peacekeepers have been stationed in the region to oversee the implementation of the truce. Since then the situation in the region has remained tense, with occasional minor clashes happening between the two countries.

On 31 August, Baku and Yerevan agreed to continue negotiations at the level of foreign ministers to develop a peace treaty within the next month, as well as hold a meeting between the leaders of the two countries in November.