According to the Alma-Ata Declaration, Nagorno-Karabakh Is Part of Azerbaijan... Armenia Easing Future Work on Nagorno-Karabakh Status by Recognizing It, Lavrov

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed the Prague meeting of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, mediated by the French president and the president of the European Council. The quadrilateral talks took place at the beginning of October, resulting in a statement.

During an online press conference, Lavrov drew attention to the text of the statement regarding the West's diplomatic activity aimed at resolving Armenian-Azerbaijani relations. The document states that delimitation and a peace agreement should be based on the borders recognized in accordance with the UN Charter and the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration.

"The declaration states that all Union republics make up the Commonwealth of Independent States and confirm the inviolability of borders that existed between the Union republics. In other words, at that time, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region was unequivocally part of the Azerbaijan SSR," Lavrov said.

According to the minister, the Prague statement has been approved by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, France, and the European Council, facilitating future work as it determines how to approach the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.

"And it is no coincidence that the Armenian leadership has recently been speaking less about the status of Karabakh, and more about ensuring the rights of the Armenian population in Karabakh. The Azerbaijani side is ready for this and is prepared to discuss and provide all rights guarantees that their other citizens have in Azerbaijan," he added.

Recall that on October 6, the Prime Minister of Armenia participated in the European Political Community summit in Prague, held a quadrilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, European Council President Charles Michel, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and attended an informal meeting between Erdogan and Aliyev, having a private conversation with Turkish President Erdogan. During the quadrilateral meeting, Armenia and Azerbaijan reaffirmed their commitment to the UN Charter and the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration, through which both sides recognize each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty. Lavrov stated that they are speaking less about the status of Nagorno-Karabakh and more about guaranteeing the rights of the Armenian population in Karabakh.