Lavrov Discusses Trilateral Working Group of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia

The trilateral working group consisting of representatives from Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia has made significant progress in reaching agreements on the unblocking of transport connections in the South Caucasus, TASS reports.

This was announced on Wednesday by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a press conference following negotiations with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

“The trilateral group, which involves deputy prime ministers from Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, is working rhythmically and synchronously. By the way, there have been regular communications recently regarding meetings on the delimitation of borders between Azerbaijan and Armenia. This trilateral working group, established by the decision of the three presidents on November 9, 2020, has recorded significant progress in achieving agreements. I hope that these will be finalized in the very near future. The most important thing is that this work is being carried out not in a vacuum, not in isolation, but in close conjunction with broader transport projects, including the North-South corridor project, which our Iranian partners are also interested in,” Lavrov said.

According to Lavrov, the discussion also addressed ongoing consultations concerning the restoration of a small railway section of the Rasht-Astara highway between Azerbaijan, Iran, and Russia.

For his part, Amir-Abdollahian noted that Iran has a very privileged geopolitical position. “Strengthening transit routes, including the diversified North-South routes, is perceived as an important factor for the development of this region, as well as for food security,” he added.

The Iranian Foreign Minister also expressed the country’s readiness to complete the construction of the unfinished section of the Rasht-Astara route.