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11 July 2016

Trend

Moscow hopes to more clearly define the further steps towards the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a meeting with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev in Baku July 11.

He said the conflict’s settlement process continues and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is satisfied with the negotiations.

Lavrov also noted that he visited Yerevan and is now in Baku under Russian president’s instructions.

“We hope that today’s meeting will make it possible to more clearly define the further steps towards the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” he added.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

During the meeting in Baku, Lavrov also noted that the Russia-Azerbaijan relations have a very rich bilateral agenda.

He also pointed to the upcoming events, including the meeting of the intergovernmental commission and the humanitarian forum to be held in Baku in September.

“We are interested in developing the cooperation in all the spheres,” added Lavrov.

Touching upon the upcoming meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of Caspian Sea countries in Astana, the minister said the sides will continue the efforts and will try to achieve a result.

Lavrov also conveyed greetings of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.