Importance of Meeting Against the West's Brazen Attempts to Contradict Our Countries, Says Russian Foreign Ministry on Mirzoyan-Lavrov Meeting

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has published the agenda for the meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia and Armenia, Sergey Lavrov and Ararat Mirzoyan, scheduled for March 20 in Moscow.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry's website, the ministers plan to discuss the current state of Armenian-Russian cooperation and further steps for its development. The discussions will also cover prospects for strengthening cooperation within common integration associations such as the CIS, EAEU, and CSTO.

There will be a presentation of a three-volume collection titled “Russian Federation and Republic of Armenia: 30 Years of Allied Cooperation,” prepared for the first time by the foreign ministries of the two countries, which includes Russian-Armenian treaties and agreements.

It is noted that one of Russia's foreign policy priorities in the South Caucasus is to promote the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, in line with the trilateral agreements of November 9, 2020, January 11, November 26, 2021, and October 31, 2022.

“We regard the implementation of these as a key condition for ensuring peace and stability in the region, restoring trust between Yerevan and Baku, and establishing comprehensive cooperation,” the statement reads.

The report also emphasizes the role of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in ensuring security within its area of responsibility. The peacekeepers assist in the return of refugees, establish peaceful life, conduct demining operations, facilitate the exchange of prisoners of war and detainees, and ensure humanitarian supplies for the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh.

In addition, a crucial aspect of Russian efforts is the unblocking of transport communications in the region. The Ministry also noted that Moscow supports the continuation of the work of the bilateral commission on the delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border.

The Russian Foreign Ministry highlighted that the preparation of a peace treaty between Yerevan and Baku aims to strengthen the fundamental principles of their relations and lay the groundwork for mutually beneficial cooperation in the long term. Moscow is ready to support this extremely important process in every way for the sake of regional stability.

“We consider the upcoming negotiations as a continuation of joint efforts towards maintaining dialogue and developing the entire range of allied ties. We emphasize the importance of this meeting against the backdrop of the West's brazen attempts to set our countries against each other and undermine the security architecture being built in the region,” the statement concluded.

Earlier, Armenia's Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan did not rule out that the foreign ministers of Armenia and Russia may also discuss the issue of deploying an EU mission at the border with Azerbaijan.