Armenian and Russian FMs meet in Moscow 

On April 8, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.

"In recent years, the Armenian-Russian interstate relations have been brought to a qualitatively new level of allied cooperation, characterized by active dialogue at high and the highest levels, close cooperation within the framework of the CSTO, the EAEU, the CIS and other international organizations, interaction in the military-political and military-technical spheres, effective partnership in trade, economic, interregional and humanitarian spheres," Ararat Mirzoyan said. 

During the meeting Lavrov said that the Russian Federation will continue to assist Armenia in strengthening its defense capability and protecting borders. "From the position of Armenia's key ally, we will continue to help you strengthen your defense capability and ensure the protection of the border," Lavrov said. He also noted that Moscow will continue to ensure the implementation of the trilateral agreements between the heads of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia on Nagorno-Karabakh, including the activities of the Russian peacekeeping contingent.

Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan said that Russia played a significant role in the cessation of fire and military operations in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone. “I am confident that the effective activity of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno Karabakh, who ensure the security of the people of Artsakh, will contribute to the observance of the ceasefire regime and the prevention of provocations in Nagorno Karabakh, the return to normal life and stability, and security in our region”, the Armenian FM said. He highly appreciated Russia’s mediating role, also within the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, which, he said, aims at settling the Nagorno Karabakh conflict exclusively peacefully. “It’s obvious that the agenda of the bilateral cooperation is full as always, and there are many issues to be discussed, and the expected high-level meeting must also be discussed in a proper way”, he said.

After the meeting Armenian and Russian Foreign Ministers held a joint press conference. 

Lavrov said that during the meeting with Mirzoyan they discussed in detail the situation in South Caucasus, emphasized the importance of strictly adhering to the 2020 November 9, 2021 January 11 and November 26 trilateral agreements and the clear implementation of the Russian peacekeeping mission’s mandate. “We discussed issues that have been discussed at the level of our leaders, including in terms of the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan and future steps to strengthen trust and stability on the borderline,” Lavrov said.

Lavrov expressed hope that the commission for delimitation will be created as soon as possible, and noted that Moscow doesn’t see any obstacles for this. He further added that the work for solving humanitarian issues must continue. The working group for unblocking of transport and economic links will convene its next meeting this month. "Russia is ready to provide support to the work between Yerevan and Baku for creating conditions for the signing of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” FM Lavrov said. He said there’ve been substantive discussions on how they can support the launch of this process. Lavrov also spoke about the normalization process between Armenia and Turkey. “We welcome the process of normalization of relations between Yerevan and Ankara. This must contribute to the improvement of the situation in the overall region,” he said. The Russian FM added that they’ve also talked about the 3+3 regional advisory platform. He said there is a common opinion that this platform opens additional opportunities for all countries in the South Caucasus. “We reiterated our interest for our Georgian partners to join this promising format,” Lavrov added.

Sergey Lavrov told journalists that trade turnover between Russia and Armenia should be "counted in another currency", not in dollars. "Last year, the trade turnover between Russia and Armenia amounted to more than $2.6 billion. It’s probably necessary to count in other currencies already, but we will agree on that after," Lavrov said. According to him, Russia is Armenia's leading trade and investment partner. "Our share in foreign trade exceeds 30%," Lavrov.

Russian FM also said that the Russian peacekeeping contingent stationed in Artsakh is looking into the incident that occurred on March 24 (in Parukh-ed.). According to him, the Russian servicemen are working to clarify all the circumstances of the incident. "We talked about it (with Ararat Mirzoyan-ed.). Not all the circumstances are clear, I would not like to go ahead and make a final judgment. We are convinced that our Armenian colleagues fully trust the Russian peacekeeping contingent, and the calls to call the contingent to account, to conduct some kind of internal investigation don’t reflect the real attitude of the Armenian people, the Armenian authorities," Lavrov said. The Russian Foreign Minister notes that the Russian peacekeeping contingent plays a huge role in maintaining stability in the region, but "not serious incidents happen."

Our French and American partners in the Minsk Group, in line with Russophobia, trying to cancel everything related to Russia, said that they will not communicate with us in the format of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov told journalists. "It’s their right. If they are ready to sacrifice interests in the settlement in Karabakh and the entire Transcaucasia, if they are ready to sacrifice the interests of the Armenian side, then it’s their choice. They not only make the settlement of this, but also other conflicts hostages of their Russophobic policy. I think this approach is absolutely irresponsible, it will not distract us from our path," Lavrov said.

Russian Federation has repeatedly reaffirmed its commitment to guaranteeing the security of the people of Artsakh. President of Artsakh

On April 8, President of the Artsakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan chaired a regular sitting of the Security Council. Issues related to the military-political situation in the republic, recent developments taking place in the region and their potential impact on Artsakh were on the discussion agenda.

Ad initium, Minister of Defense Kamo Vardanyan delivered a report on the situation on the line of contact, emphasizing that in recent days the operative-tactical situation has been relatively stable following certain tension. The Head of State noted that active efforts are being exerted to maintain peace and stability in Artsakh, and in this regard the tendencies are quite positive.

"Of course, we continue our efforts with the Russian party to withdraw the Azeri troops to their starting positions from the village of Parukh and the Karaglukh height of the Askeran region. At the same time, I would like to state that the Russian Federation has repeatedly reaffirmed its commitment to guaranteeing the security of the people of Artsakh through peacekeeping contingent and other military-political mechanisms. The provisions of the trilateral statement signed on November 9, 2020 continue to apply and based on this logic, we will keep building a peaceful life in our homeland, at the same time constantly improving the effectiveness of our own security mechanisms," said President Harutyunyan.

Arayik Harutyunyan also highlighted that considering the new realities and challenges in the region, the implementation of various programs aimed at the defense of the country and civil defense will be in the spotlight of the government. The need to create an open social-political platform in the National Assembly with the involvement of parliamentary forces was also discussed at the sitting, the aim of which is to organize regular interaction and discussions with various public circles on the military-political developments in the country. Anyone can join the platform in the near future, addressing to the NA staff. The President gave concrete intructions on a number of issues discussed during the sitting.

Azerbaijani FM discussed the situation in region with Turkish and Russian FMs

On April 8, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov held a telephone conversation with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Azerbaijani MFA reports.

According to the message of the Azerbaijani MFA, the Ministers exchanged views on the latest situation in the region, including the implementation of trilateral statements. The sides discussed the settlement of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as the high-level meeting in Brussels.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a telephone conversation with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, during which the progress of the implementation of the agreements of the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan around Artsakh was discussed.

"The sides exchanged views on a number of regional and international topics," Russian Foreign Ministry reports. "The Ministers discussed the implementation of all provisions of the trilateral agreements of November 9, 2020, January 11, 2021 and November 26, 2021, including the activities of the trilateral working group on unblocking economic and transport ties, efforts to form a commission on the delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, as well as the creation of conditions for negotiations on the preparation of a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia," the message reads.

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