Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s statement and answers to media questions at a news conference with Foreign Minister of the Republic Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan following talks, Yerevan, June 9, 2022

Mr Mirzoyan,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am always happy to visit hospitable Yerevan. We try to exchange visits with our colleagues every year. We are maintaining intensive contacts now. On April 8, 2022,  Ararat Mirzoyan was in Moscow, where we held very productive talks. On May 12, we met during a meeting of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers in Dushanbe.

The talks we held today were fully focused on our bilateral agenda, as well as international and regional issues. We analysed our efforts to fulfil the tasks set by our leaders, the President of Russia and the Prime Minister of Armenia, including during the first official visit of Nikol Pashinyan to Russia on April 19-20, 2022. A major outcome of that visit was the adoption of a joint statement on the priority spheres of bilateral cooperation. Our leaders reaffirmed the privileged nature of the allied relations between Russia and Armenia, which is especially important this year as we mark 30 years of diplomatic relations. During the April visit by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the sides signed a package of documents which have been added to the substantial legal framework of our relations.

We have agreed to maintain the robust pace in our efforts in all areas. Our plans for this year include a regular meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation co-chaired by our deputy prime ministers Alexey Overchuk and Mher Grigoryan. We also intend to hold an interregional and a youth forum. We are preparing to build a monument to Russian-Armenian friendship, Unity for Centuries, in central Yerevan.

The Days of Armenian Culture open in Russia tomorrow. In the second half of the year, the Days of Russian Spiritual Culture will be held in Armenia. These educational events are an opportunity to continue the mutual enrichment of our ancient cultures.

Russia remains Armenia’s leading trade partner and investor in the Armenian economy. Despite the pandemic-related decline, we have managed to return trade to a trajectory of steady growth. We continue to build cooperation in energy (including nuclear energy), the metals mining industry, transport, logistics and high technology. We intend to encourage the practice of business missions and business forums in every area, something that has a good reputation for success.

We intensively promote our humanitarian ties, as well as preserve and strengthen our general education, scientific and language interaction. Considering the wishes of our Armenian friends, we are increasing the number of Russian schools in Armenia, helping Armenian specialists in Russian philology upgrade their skills, and we are increasing the number of grants for Armenian students who want to study at Russian universities.

We continue closely coordinating our steps in the world arena. Today we discussed the implementation of the plan of consultations between our foreign ministries, signed on April 8 of this year. On the sidelines of this visit, three deputy foreign ministers held consultations with their Armenian counterparts on cooperation in different Eurasian associations and in Europe. Our delegations at the foreign minister level discussed in detail issues of cooperation in the EAEU, the CIS, and in the CSTO that is chaired by Armenia this year.

Our positions coincide on the majority of global and regional issues. We agreed to continue coordinating our actions, in part, in international associations with consideration for changing geopolitical realities.

We focused on the measures of promoting peace, security and stability in the South Caucasus. We share an opinion on the need to strictly fulfil the agreements between the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia of November 9, 2020 and January 11 and November 26, 2021.

We are grateful for the high assessment of the stabilising role of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in maintaining regional peace and security. We expressed satisfaction with the results of the meeting in Moscow on June 3, 2022 of the trilateral working group, co-chaired by the deputy prime ministers of the three countries, on the issues of unblocking transport and economic connections in the South Caucasus.

We reviewed the work of the Commission on the Delimitation of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Border with consultative assistance from the Russian Federation. We confirmed our willingness to promote the signing of a peace treaty between Yerevan and Baku and to facilitate the settlement of persistent humanitarian problems in the region.

We welcome the normalisation of relations between Armenia and Turkey. This should also contribute to the general improvement of the situation in the region. In the same vein, we share the opinion that it is necessary to ensure the consistent work of the 3+3 regional platform with the participation of the three countries in the South Caucasus and their three neighbours. This is an important additional channel for developing dialogue and multi-faceted cooperation between the region’s countries and their neighbours.

These talks have definitely become a major step towards further developing our strategic partnership and allied relations. We are grateful to our Armenian friends for their hospitality and for the excellent organisation of the work.

I am sure that tomorrow’s meeting of the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers will be a success as well and will help strengthen this important format.

I would like to invite Ararat Mirzoyan to visit the Russian Federation again. We would be happy to see his delegation in any Russian city.

Question: As far as we know, yesterday in Ankara, you touched on the topic of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations in your conversation with Mevlut Cavusoglu, to some extent. In what context did this subject surface during today’s talks? (It did, didn’t it)? How much progress has been made on a rapprochement between Baku and Yerevan? You mentioned the possibility of concluding a peace treaty. What is needed to expedite this, keeping the “Nagorno-Karabakh factor” in mind?

Sergey Lavrov: We mentioned this subject in both of our opening remarks. Our leaders have met three times to address practical issues that are critical to ending the conflict and normalising relations between the countries in the region, including between Azerbaijan and Armenia. There is a general understanding that the process is moving forward. Perhaps we would like to see faster progress, but in any case, the process is underway, and significant positive (albeit intermediate) results have been achieved. There is no doubt that final agreements will be made. We are doing our best to facilitate this.

The parties have their own visions, and they do not always align with the plans for the immediate stage. But all our partners – and Russia – share an understanding that the three statements adopted at the highest level are a clear roadmap that everyone should be guided by.

We are satisfied that both commissions on the delimitation of the border (the Armenian and Azerbaijani one) have held initial meetings. The next meeting is planned in Moscow. We are ready to provide advisory assistance in accordance with the agreements of the three countries’ leaders, and to contribute cartographic materials, which is important for the practical work. At the same time, the trilateral Working Group on the restoration of transport and economic ties, co-chaired by the Deputy Prime Ministers, has made significant progress.

Today we discussed the options for resolving the remaining issues. I am sure that they will all be resolved eventually. There is no other way but to bring relations back to normal. What we are tentatively referring to as a “peace treaty” is based on the proposals first made by Azerbaijan. Armenia reciprocated by spelling out its own vision. The ongoing peace process relies on both documents, and we are ready to participate in this process as an intermediary, consultant and facilitator.

Question: As Ararat Mirzoyan mentioned, on March 24, Azerbaijani troops invaded the Nagorno-Karabakh village of Parukh and are still deployed there. That hostile action has prevented more than 400 people from returning to their homes. On April 8, you said at a news conference that you did not want to make any “rash” statements and that the peacekeepers were studying the circumstances of the invasion. Has anything been achieved on this? What is being done to ensure that the Azerbaijani troops return to their original bases?

Sergey Lavrov: I meant that I didn’t want to give a hasty statement. As for the situation, the Russian military (our Armenian friends are well aware of this) keep it under review as one of their priorities. Certain results have been achieved on the ground in terms of de-escalation. We hope that the launch of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border delimitation process will help build confidence between Baku and Yerevan and preclude any further incidents such as Parukh in the Russian peacekeeping contingent’s zone of responsibility.

Question: What can you tell us about Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba’s statements to the effect that Kiev welcomed the recent talks in Ankara but will rely on the UN for exporting grain? He continues talking about the need to supply Kiev with arms. What might be the consequences of the US sending anti-ship missiles to Kiev?

Sergey Lavrov: As for the positions and actions of Ukraine on unblocking its ports to let the foreign ships there leave for their destinations, and to transport the grain that’s still there in other ships, it’s very simple; I talked about this at the news conference in Ankara yesterday.

The Russian military has been announcing security corridors every day for over a month. Any ship with cargo waiting for departure from Black Sea ports can use these corridors safely under the condition that the Ukrainians demine the coast under their control. I welcome the efforts of our Turkish colleagues to persuade Kiev to stop dragging out this process. I hope the Ukrainians will realise there is no alternative to resolving this issue on an understandable, sensible and objective foundation and will stop looking for a way out in demanding that the West continue to arm them to the teeth. They are asking for anti-ship weapons, and according to Ukrainian officials, they want to use them against the ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. It is time to give up this rhetoric and start on specific actions instead of fuelling emotions in the media space in the hope of high ratings.

I would like to emphasise once again that to achieve this our Western partners must realise that connivance with Kiev’s bellicose attitude won’t do any good.   

Question (translated from Armenian): The deputy prime ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia met on June 3 of this year to discuss unblocking and delimitation after a long break. What do you think about the results of the meeting, considering that Azerbaijan continues to think in terms of a corridor? What results have been achieved?

Sergey Lavrov:  First, I think the June 3 meeting produced positive results. I wouldn’t say that the break was too long. They work persistently and arrived prepared to resolve the outstanding issues. As you know, the railway route has been agreed upon. Now they are close to agreement on the highway route and the control process there to be established. It will be simplified but certainly based on the recognition of the sovereignty of Armenian territory. There can be no ambiguities here. Yes, these things are linked with practical actions on the ground, with building infrastructure to use for many years to come. It is necessary to consider carefully all aspects of the issue and not shoot from the hip. We are certain that our Azerbaijani and Armenian colleagues are proceeding with this approach.