Armenia Ready to Rapidly Initiate Border Delimitation and Demarcation Process, Grigoryan Tells Russian Security Council Secretary

Today, a bilateral meeting took place in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, between Armenia's Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan and Russia's Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev within the framework of a joint session of the Council of Foreign Ministers, Council of Defense Ministers, and Secretaries of Security Councils of the CSTO. This was reported by the Security Council's office.

At the beginning of the meeting, Armen Grigoryan welcomed his Russian counterpart and emphasized that such frequent bilateral meetings indicate a deepening of cooperation between the offices of the security councils of both countries, as well as mutual interest in developing security relations between Armenia and Russia.

Subsequently, the secretaries discussed the situation created in the South Caucasus. In this context, Armen Grigoryan presented the situation resulting from the armed forces of Azerbaijan's invasion of the sovereign territory of Armenia in the Syunik and Gegharkunik provinces since May, emphasizing that any manifestation of encroachment on Armenia's territory is unacceptable, adding that Armenia is ready to rapidly initiate the delimitation and demarcation process of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.

Speaking about the possibility of establishing long-term peace in the region, Armen Grigoryan stressed that the government of the Republic of Armenia has announced an "era of peace," which will bring about stable peace and development opportunities for the South Caucasus region, highlighting the importance of unblocking all infrastructure along this path.

Nikolai Patrushev also emphasized the importance of continuing work towards the unblocking process, noting that this will provide an opportunity to ensure stable peace in the region.

One of the key issues discussed was the problem of Armenian prisoners of war, captives, and other individuals kept by Azerbaijan. Armen Grigoryan once again emphasized that according to the November 9, 2020 statement, all prisoners of war, captives, and other individuals must be returned to their homeland, while the Azerbaijani side has not yet fully fulfilled this obligation, expressing hope that thanks to Russian efforts, it will be possible to return all Armenian prisoners of war to their homeland swiftly.

In his remarks, Nikolai Patrushev referred to the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, emphasizing the importance of activating the process within the framework of the co-chairs of the Minsk Group.