During a meeting in Moscow with his Armenian counterpart, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Kremlin is ready to contribute to the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov welcomed his Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyan, on Tuesday for a meeting focusing in particular on the latest developments in tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Russia acts as mediator in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan
This meeting comes at a time when relations between Baku and Yerevan have been tense for decades and after Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian repeatedly announced his intention to leave the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the military alliance uniting Russia and its like and former Russian Soviet republics.
Sergey Lavrov said the Kremlin was ready to contribute to the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. “We are ready to provide the necessary assistance for the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan on all levels, within the framework of the development of the trilateral agreements concluded by the leaders of the three countries in 2020 and 2022”Lavrov said during the press briefing.
“We believe that these agreements are still relevant, especially in light of the current situation in the region. So we have a very busy schedule”he added.
Moscow accused by Yerevan of not having prevented the capture of Nagorno-Karabakh
Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan have been strained since war broke out over Nagorno-Karabakh in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
In 2020, after three decades of failed diplomatic efforts, Azerbaijan launched a military operation and claimed parts of the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, sparking a six-week conflict, known as the Second Karabakh War .
The conflict ended with a Moscow-brokered ceasefire, with Russian troops deployed to secure the deal.
Three years later, Baku took full control of Nagorno-Karabakh after 100,000 Armenians fled before Baku’s advancing forces.
Armenian authorities accuse Moscow’s peacekeeping forces, deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh after the 2020 war, of failing to stop the Azerbaijani assault, an accusation the Kremlin has denied.
Russia has instead accused the Armenian government of being pro-Western. Accusations over the Second Karabakh War have strained relations between longtime allies Armenia and Russia.
