On Thursday (12 May), foreign minister of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, of Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan, and of Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov, met in Dushanbe to discuss the current state of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.
The foreign ministers convened on the sidelines of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers, currently taking place in the Tajik capital. They reportedly exchanged views on efforts to normalise relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, confirming their compliance to all provisions of the November 2020 and January 2021 trilateral statements. In this regard, they noted the positive work in certain areas, including the progress made by the Trilateral Working Group aiming to help unblock economic and transport links in the region, and the efforts to launch the delimitation and demarcation process.
The preparation of an agreement on the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia was discussed, which the Russian side said it was ready to support in every possible way.
The ministers spoke in favour of continuing the dialogue between the representatives of Azerbaijan and Armenia with the participation of Russia.
Mirzoyan reportedly reaffirmed Yerevan’s position on “guaranteeing the security of the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians, their rights and freedoms”, while also stressing the need to address humanitarian issues, including the repatriation of Armenian servicemen still in Azerbaijani custody.
All three foreign ministers spoke positively about the meeting, and the general prospects for peace. Lavrov said he hoped that “today’s meeting will make it possible to move forward along the path that was outlined by our leaders”. While it does not seem that any tangible agreements were reached, the dates for the meetings of the two working groups, one on unblocking transport communications, and the other on delimitation and demarcation, were announced, with both taking place on 16-17 May in Moscow. However Azerbaijani media subsequently suggested that no final agreement on holding the meetings was reached