The main result of the agreements reached last year by the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia on the full cessation of hostilities in Karabakh is the stabilization of the situation in the conflict zone, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov this at a press conference on Tuesday.
"The main result of almost a year since November 9, 2020, is that stability is established, maintained, the Russian peacekeeping contingent contributes to the fact that we do not observe any violent actions now. The minor incidents that occurred in the initial stage were quickly resolved. I want to stress once again that the situation is stable now, but there are still many problems," he said.
According to him, it is still necessary to complete the demining operation in Nagorno-Karabakh and return the detainees to the region and organize a peaceful life. "The main task now is to establish a calm, peaceful, stable life in the land, so that the communities - both Armenian and Azerbaijani - establish trust there, which has been there for many decades, so that the problems of refugee return and other domestic problems are solved," Lavrov summed up.
According to Lavrov, the OSCE Minsk group co-chairs agreed in New York with Baku and Yerevan to resume working visits to the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
"Just the other day, the three co-chairs from Russia, the United States and France met in New York with the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia. They, as far as I understand, have agreed to resume their trips to the region to visit [Nagorno-Karabakh] and talk on the spot with representatives of Armenia, Azerbaijan, including meetings planned in Stepanakert," he said.
Lavrov said that the main task of the OSCE Minsk group now is to promote the positive trends achieved by the trilateral declaration of a full ceasefire in the conflict zone. According to him, the stability achieved in Nagorno-Karabakh must be consolidated in every way possible, ensuring the coexistence and cooperation of Armenian and Azerbaijani communities. "I would not make more ambitious plans now," he said.
Russian president Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev and Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on the full cessation of hostilities in Karabakh last November 9. According to the document, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides stopped at the occupied positions, a number of areas came under Baku's control, and Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the line of contact and the Lachin corridor.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS