Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said talks he hosted between his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhun Bayramov in Moscow on Tuesday were “productive.”

Lavrov emphasized that the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh was a focus of the discussions, saying that Russia, taking into consideration the reports from its peacekeeping forces on the ground, presented the steps that it believes are “highly desirable to take promptly, without delay in the interests of providing the population of Karabakh with food, medicine, basic necessities, and ensuring uninterrupted electricity and gas supply.”

“Russia, as a key mediator in the peace process since the signing of the trilateral declaration of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia on November 9, 2020, is interested in resolving the crisis as soon as possible in full accordance with the tripartite statements that the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia adopted in 2020, 2021 and 2022,” Lavrov said in a statement publicized on the Russian foreign ministry’s website.

“We spoke about another important provision of these agreements. I mean ensuring unhindered movement, unblocking transport and economic communications throughout the region.
Particular attention was paid to the issues of delimitation, which are closely related to the entire set of issues under discussion, and the issues of the early conclusion of a peace treaty between Baku and Yerevan,” added Lavrov, expressing hope that the signing of the such a treaty will bring to fruition the years of negotiations Russia has led through its president. Vladimir Putin.

“The path is not easy,” Lavrov said.

“There are many complex and important issues to be resolved. The most sensitive of them was and remains the issue of guaranteeing the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh in the context of ensuring the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan in full accordance with the 1991 Declaration signed by the leaders of the former Soviet republics in Alma-Ata. Its effectiveness has been confirmed today by both the Azerbaijani and Armenian leadership. The work on the peace treaty is being built in accordance with this,” the Russian leader explained.

“The Armenian side understands the need to convince the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh to meet as soon as possible with Azerbaijani representatives to agree on the rights arising from the relevant legislation and from international obligations (in this case, of Azerbaijan), including numerous conventions on ensuring the rights of national minorities,” he said, adding that “The Azerbaijani side is ready to provide the same guarantees on a reciprocal basis with respect to persons living on its territory. Armenians are ready to do the same with respect to the application of all conventions to citizens residing in the Republic of Armenia.”

Lavrov welcomed what he called progress in the working groups engaged in opening transport routes in the region, as well as the task of delimiting and demarcating the borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan. He added that Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to resume dialogue that would include political experts and civic leaders and voiced hope that such discussions can lead to dialogue between legislatures of the three countries.

The Russian foreign minister also warned the European Union and the United States who of late have taken a keen interest in resolving the Armenia-Azerbaijan settlement process.

“We understand the interest of both the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides to rely on mediators that is not only the Russian Federation, but also others. We welcome the desire of those who are sincerely interested in helping Baku and Yerevan find agreements, who, like us, are working in this direction. But there should be no attempts to artificially impose certain agreements not based on the interests of the Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples, but for the sake of beautiful headlines in the media, for the sake of geopolitical and domestic political considerations,” warned Lavrov.

According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Mirzoyan highlighted the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, which is deepening with every passing hour as a result of the illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan and the imperative to immediately lift the blockade of the Lachin corridor in accordance with the provisions of the Trilateral statement of November 9, 2020 and the Orders of the International Court of Justice.

He said international mechanisms should be created to ensure the rights and security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.

As for the border security between the two countries, Mirzoyan reportedly stressed Yerevan’s commitment to take the 1975 map as the basis for ensuring maximum clarity in the process of further border delimitation.

Mirzoyan emphasized the importance of unblocking all economic and transport routes in the region, and the need to refrain from advancing “alternatives” that would hinder the “sovereignty and jurisdiction” of the countries.

Lavrov said in his statement that he met separately with Mirzoyan and Bayramov and laid out Moscow’s vision as it relates to regional issues, as well as bi-lateral ties.