Yerevan /Mediamax/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that “the Armenian side has an understanding of the need to convince the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh to meet with Azerbaijani representatives as soon as possible.”

Speaking on the results of the meeting with the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, held on July 25 in Moscow, Sergey Lavrov, in particular, noted:

“Many complex and important issues are yet to be resolved. The most sensitive of them was and remains the problem of guaranteeing the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh in the context of ensuring the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan in full accordance with the 1991 Declaration signed by the leaders of the former Soviet republics in Alma-Ata. Its effectiveness has been confirmed today by both the Azerbaijani and Armenian leadership. Work on a peace treaty is being built in accordance with it.

The Armenian side has an understanding of the need to convince the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh to meet with Azerbaijani representatives as soon as possible to agree on the rights arising from the relevant legislation and from international obligations (in this case, of Azerbaijan), including numerous conventions on ensuring the rights of national minorities.

The Azerbaijani side is ready to provide the same guarantees on a mutual basis with respect to people living in its territory. Armenians are ready to do the same with regard to the application of all conventions to citizens residing in the Republic of Armenia.”

The Russian minister also noted that “the closest result at this stage is the achievement of an agreement in a trilateral working group headed by three deputy prime ministers who are engaged in reaching agreement on specific issues of unblocking transport communications in the region.”

“In this context, prospects will also open up for the implementation of promising projects in the transport sector, which already will have not only a regional, but also a broader character,” Lavrov noted.

“We understand the interest of the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides to use not only Russian mediators, but also others. We welcome the desire of those who are sincerely interested in helping Baku and Yerevan find agreements and who, like us, are working in this direction. But no attempts should be made to artificially impose certain agreements that are not based on the interests of the Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples, but for beautiful headlines in the media, for geopolitical and domestic political considerations,” the Russian foreign minister said.