The issues related to the borders in the Nagorno-Karabakh region are solvable despite their complexity, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday at a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
"We are grateful for the high appreciation of the role of our peacekeepers. We will do everything that, as you stressed, all proceed from the fact that the military aspects are closed. Now we need to deal with the details "on the ground." There are delimitations, demarcations [of the border]. Not everything is simple, but everything is solvable, in our conviction. Military experts with the participation of diplomats can agree on mutually acceptable demarcations," Lavrov said.
UNESCO work
According to Lavrov, Moscow is ready to create conditions for UNESCO in its work on the preservation of the cultural heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh.
"UNESCO, as an organization responsible for the preservation of international cultural heritage, is also interested in participating in these efforts. We are ready to contribute to the creation of the conditions which will make this possible. Naturally, we must take into account the agreements on this matter, the position of the parties concerned," Lavrov said.
"Issues related to resolving the humanitarian consequences of the war - you mentioned prisoners of war, about preventing any abuses related to historical heritage - all this we want to help resolve as constructively as possible," he stressed.
The minister said that Russia will continue to contribute to the implementation of the agreements between the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia on Karabakh in conditions "conducive to a constructive result".
Lavrov also drew attention to the fact that Russia supports businesses willing to work in Nagorno-Karabakh: "We encourage our companies to participate in the reconstruction work, in the programs that you have planned".
In April, Russia's permanent representative to UNESCO Alexander Kuznetsov said that Russia considers it necessary to make additional efforts to protect cultural sites, which are in zones of armed conflicts, and to send a UNESCO assessment mission to Nagorno-Karabakh as soon as possible.
Normalization of relations between Baku and Yerevan
Lavrov believes that the issues of creating a transport hub in the South Caucasus can become the basis for improving relations between Baku and Yerevan.
"We are sincerely interested in the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. We believe that joint work to focus on the economic aspects of a way out of the once protracted conflict creates the best framework for this," Lavrov said.
"People should feel - this process is happening, a real improvement "on the ground." The three deputy prime ministers of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia meet regularly within a working group created by the leaders of the three countries and consider practical aspects related to the leaders' agreement to unblock all economic and transport communications in the South Caucasus," the minister added. - "This is potentially a very serious transport hub, which will be important far beyond regional boundaries".
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS