Lavrov discusses Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal with FMs
A handout photo made available by the press service of the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry shows Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov (L) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (R) during their meeting in Antalya, Turkey, March 10, 2022. (EPA File Photo)


Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan discussed developments, including a peace deal, with their Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Monday.

According to a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry, Lavrov touched upon the implementation of the agreements signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan on Nov. 9, 2020, Jan. 11, 2021, and Nov. 26, 2021, in separate phone conversations with the two ministers.

Lavrov also touched upon the possibility of a peace agreement between the long-time archrivals, as he underlined that Russia was ready to provide support in this regard.

They also exchanged views on the 3+3 regional cooperation format, the ministry statement said.

Ankara has made frequent calls for a six-nation platform comprising of Turkey, Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia for permanent peace, stability and cooperation in the region, saying it would be a win-win initiative for all regional actors in the Caucasus.

Turkey believes that permanent peace is possible through mutual security-based cooperation among the states and people of the South Caucasus region.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a decadeslong dispute over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994.

Moscow brokered a peace deal last November to end six weeks of fighting over the territory, during which more than 6,600 people were killed. The Russia-brokered truce allowed Azerbaijan to reclaim control over large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas that the Armenia-backed separatists controlled.