The trilateral statement of the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan dated November 9, 2020 does not provide for the establishment of checkpoints on the Lachin corridor, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a press conference following talks with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov on Tuesday, February 28.
“The regime of its (Lachin corridor – TASS note) functioning should fully comply with the very first trilateral statement of November 9-10, 2020, which means the need to ensure free movement for exclusively civilian and humanitarian cargo, civilians,” Lavrov said.
“This is what we are striving for, primarily through the Russian peacekeeping contingent. It does not provide for the establishment of any checkpoints," Lavrov said.
Lavrov revealed that he has reaffirmed Russia’s readiness to provide an opportunity to continue trilateral negotiations between the Russian Federation, Azerbaijan and Armenia at the level of foreign ministers, "We reaffirmed our readiness to provide an opportunity to continue such meetings," he said.
The Russian Foreign Minister noted that the Azerbaijani side expressed readiness to hold a new meeting in this format. "The Armenian side said that it also does not object, but so far it hasn’t given final consent," Lavrov added.
He said that Moscow provided a platform for a trilateral meeting of foreign ministers on several occasions.
Lavrov said earlier that Russia welcomes any efforts from other countries that are aimed at normalizing relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as at strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation in the region.
