
Lavrov Denies Russia Backs Azerbaijan in Peace Talks with Armenia
During a press conference following his meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in Moscow yesterday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pushed back when a reporter claimed that Moscow appears to back Azerbaijan in talks with Armenia to normalize relations.
Lavrov responded that while Moscow has strategic partnerships and allied relationships with Armenia as well as with Azerbaijan it has a “vested interest” in seeing Armenia and Azerbaijan normalize their relations.
Lavrov again took a jibe at certain unnamed countries who seek to meddle in the South Caucasus for their own geopolitical interests.
The Russian foreign minister said Moscow’s involvement in the South Caucasus, including efforts to facilitate a peace treaty between Yerevan and Baku, the unblocking of regional economic and transport links, is based on various trilateral agreements signed by Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan following the 2020 Artsakh War.
When asked why relations between Moscow and Yerevan have soured of late and whether it's possible to restore relations to its previous state, Lavrov responded that “certain factions have aggravated” tensions between them and that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan have addressed the issue.
Lavrov said he and Mirzoyan have agreed to candidly and honestly voice any concerns that arise between Armenia and Russia.
“We will endeavor to ensure that the media space is not exploited by those ill-wishers aiming to transform our normal working relations into strained ones,” Lavrov said.
Write a comment