Russian, Armenian top diplomats discuss Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement

Published November 30,2023

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday met together with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan and mentioned the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement.

The assembly happened on the sidelines of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Ministerial Council assembly in Skopje, North Macedonia, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated in an announcement.

The assembly of the 57 OSCE states, which is scheduled to final till Friday, is attended by round 40 nations.

“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 stated.

Separately, the Armenian Foreign Ministry stated Mirzoyan “presented Armenia’s position on the bilateral relations and regional agenda.”

Baku-Yerevan relations have remained tense since 1991, when the Armenian army occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally acknowledged as a part of Azerbaijan, and 7 adjoining areas.

Most of the territory was liberated by Azerbaijan throughout a struggle within the fall of 2020, which ended after a Russian-brokered peace settlement and in addition opened the door to normalization.

Azerbaijan established full sovereignty in Karabakh after an “anti-terrorism operation” in September this 12 months, after which separatist forces within the area surrendered.

Meanwhile, Lavrov additionally spoke “on foot” with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, in keeping with media stories — on the request of the OSCE as a corporation.

The ministers mentioned the rotation of key OSCE posts, together with the place of secretary-general, which is presently held by Helga Schmid, whose mandate expires on Sunday.

Lavrov additionally met together with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto and the duo mentioned a “wide range of topics presenting mutual interest.”