The Russian deputy prime minister, Alexey Overchuk, was received yesterday (1 April) in Baku by Azerbaijani president, Ilham Aliyev. The President discussed the progress of the trilateral working group – co-chaired by the deputy prime ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia to implement the tripartite ceasefire agreement – with the Russian official, which they agreed was going smoothly.
Aliyev noted that five meetings had now been conducted by the working group, highlighting the important topics of economic preferences, regional co-operation and strengthening security and peace in the region. He referred to the post-conflict situation as “generally developing positively and the risks of escalation are minimal”. The President added that “the more elements of co-operation there are, the stronger the security and stability will be,” and expressed his willingness to speak to the Russian official about further steps that could be taken towards this end.
Overchuk thanked Aliyev for the opportunity to discuss the tripartite working group, confirmed that they were making progress, and noted that he had established good contact with both the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides.
Aliyev spoke later on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, to discuss the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to the Kremlin press office, the leaders “noted with satisfaction the situation is generally stable, and the ceasefire is being strictly observed”. In light of Aliyev’s meeting with Overchuk, the presidents gave a positive assessment of the progress of the working group. They also discussed Russian-Azerbaijani co-operation on the COVID-19 pandemic and agreed to continue to strengthen their strategic partnership and the promotion of mutually beneficial projects.