Azerbaijan and Armenia need to substantially moderate their rhetoric towards each other in the interests of a final peaceful settlement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday at a press conference following talks with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.
"Of course, it is necessary to seriously, substantially moderate the rhetoric on both sides. This will create conditions for a final, full-fledged settlement, I have no doubt about that," he stressed.
The Russian foreign minister also underscored the importance of the tripartite working group on Karabakh in restoring confidence between the sides. "I am now starting from the fact that it is not about the resumption of the process, but about the implementation of what has already been signed, and first of all about the need to ensure reliable security and of course, to start restoring confidence. A trilateral working group at the level of deputy prime ministers to unblock transport communications and economic ties plays a special role here. This will be a very important measure that will allow the parties to be more constructive about what's going on," the minister pointed out.
He also added that Moscow considers the promotion of humanitarian ties between Armenia and Azerbaijan at all levels crucial. Lavrov proposed to pass the question of whether any meeting is planned between the parties to Baku and Yerevan.
According to Lavrov, Moscow and Yerevan have agreed not to slacken their attention to efforts to eliminate mutual irritants in relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Lavrov said that during talks with his Armenian counterpart, they discussed in detail the implementation of November 9, 2020, trilateral agreements of the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, which made it possible to stop the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. "We agreed not to weaken attention to efforts to eliminate mutual irritants in relations between Yerevan and Baku, including a final solution to the release of Armenian prisoners of war, including the transfer of maps of minefields, and confirmed the need for further activities of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs," the minister said.
Release of prisoners of war
Russia calls on the Azerbaijani side to release all Armenian prisoners of war without any conditions, Lavrov said. "We are sending this signal [on the exchange of all for all] to our Azerbaijani colleagues and call on them to release all without any conditions," the head of the diplomatic mission pointed out.
According to the minister, such actions by the Azerbaijani side "would be a symbolic measure of the very trust that is now lacking". "And of course, it would be an important humanitarian step," he added. - "So we will continue to speak from these positions, but, of course, the final decision does not depend on us."
Nevertheless, Lavrov noted, this position of Moscow is systematically carried out in bilateral contacts with Baku, including at the highest level. "Any confidence-building measures, not only that, but the counter-measure, which Armenia implemented, the submission of maps of minefields, we actively supported", - continued the head of the ministry. - "We believe that even now by such reciprocal steps, not necessarily linking one to the other, but simply in a spirit of goodwill, we can make a step towards our partner, our neighbor with whom we will have to live on the same land and breathe the same air. We will contribute to this in any way we can".
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS