Armenian Foreign Minister drew the attention of his Russian counterpart to the destructive actions of Azerbaijan

ArmInfo. Today's meeting is a good opportunity to exchange views on how things are going in the bilateral field, we have a very rich one: economy, investments, security - we are an ally in the CSTO, humanitarian areas, education, science, parliamentary ties. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced this in Moscow on August 31 opening negotiations with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.

At the same time, he pointed to Russia's interest in continuing the development of Armenian-Russian ties in the interests of the peoples of the two countries. The Russian minister added that the international agenda will be among the key ones at the talks. In this vein, he recalled that Armenia and Russia interact at the platforms of the UN, OSCE, Council of Europe, there are ramified mechanisms of consultations on various aspects of world politics.

"Well, a separate topic is the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement. There are a number of issues here that are directly discussed by the presidents and the prime minister of Armenia. There are issues that our military, border guards, together with our Armenian and Azerbaijani colleagues, solve on a day-to-day basis.  There is a trilateral working mechanism at the level of the deputy prime ministers of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan on the issues of unblocking economic and transport communications, "Lavrov said, pointing out the rich agenda of the negotiations. At the same time, he expressed gratitude to Mirzoyan for the fact that he made his first foreign visit to Russia, which once again characterizes the level of cooperation between the two countries.

In turn, Mirzoyan expressed gratitude for the invitation to visit Russia. "And this is not surprising, since Russia is a military-political ally and main economic partner of Armenia. In this regard, I would like to reaffirm the readiness of the Armenian side to further build relations with Russia on the basis of the treaty of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance of 1997, the declaration of allied interaction focused on the 21st century, as well as the agreements adopted, determined to further develop allied relations in line with the centuries-old ties of friendship and brotherhood, "the minister said, recalling that this readiness is reflected in the program of activities of the Armenian government for the next 5 years, adopted by the Armenian parliament a few days ago.

At the same time, Mirzoyan believes that regular contacts between the parties at the highest and high levels are of decisive importance for building up bilateral cooperation, allowing the parties to agree on the strategic priorities of relations, constructively resolve topical issues, and closely coordinate positions on key issues of the international and regional agenda.

According to the Armenian Foreign Minister, this is especially important in light of the rapidly changing trends and situation in the region after the 44-day war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Nagorno-Karabakh.

Peace and stability in our region is our strategy, and we are ready for an active dialogue in this direction.  However, quite serious tension remains in the region, which is largely predetermined by the destructive position of Azerbaijan. I want to state that Baku does not fulfill its obligations under the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, achieved thanks to the personal efforts of Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Moreover, in violation of international law, Azerbaijan is taking open provocative steps, which are a direct encroachment on the sovereign territories of Armenia, which we have been facing since May 12 this year.  All these actions are accompanied by Armenian-phobic and aggressive statements and rhetoric of the Azerbaijani authorities, "the Armenian Foreign Minister noted.

At the same time, he added that constantly generating a new false agenda of the day, official Baku refuses to fulfill its obligations - in first of all on the issue of the return of Armenian prisoners of war and forcibly detained civilians.