Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, during a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov today, expressed confidence that Armenia will continue to develop relations with Russia based on mutual trust and deep understanding of mutual interests.

He noted that today’s talks focused on the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and on the process of settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

“I reaffirmed the readiness of the Government of Armenia to make efforts to achieve stability and peace in the region. In this context, the key is addressing the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which will include the main points of ensuring the security and all the rights of the people of Artsakh and the final determination of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The principles of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement have been developed by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, and we are interested in intensifying the activities of this format which received a mediatory mandate from the international community,” Ararat Mirzoyan said.

He noted that Russia played a key role in ceasing the aggression unleashed against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. “The deployment of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh as a factor to prevent provocations and ensure the security of the people of Artsakh is called to create conditions for the restoration of normal life, stability and security in our region.

Armenia continues to believe that Russia’s peacekeeping mission is able to restore the status quo established by the November 9, 2020 statement, to restore the situation as of March 23, which was violated by the Azerbaijani armed forces on March 24 with the intrusion into the village of Parukh in Nagorno-Karabakh.”

Ararat Mirzoyan also praised Russia’s efforts aimed at the implementation of the agreements registered in the November 9, 2020 statement, among which the issue of the return of Armenian prisoners of war is extremely urgent.

“Thanks to these efforts, it became possible to return some of the Armenian captives to their homeland, but at the same time, almost two years after the end of hostilities, Azerbaijan, violating international humanitarian law, disrupts the implementation of the provisions of the statement and refuses to return Armenian prisoners of war and other detainees. We hope that the Russian side will make even greater efforts in this direction.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in his turn, thanked for the high assessment of the stabilizing role of Russian peacekeepers.

He reaffirmed Russia’s readiness to support the signing of a peace agreement between Yerevan and Baku. “We also welcome the process of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, which should also contribute to the improvement of the environment in the region,” Lavrov said, stressing the importance of the uninterrupted work of the 3+3 regional platform.