On April 8, Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian, who is paying a working visit to Moscow, met with Foreign Minister of Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov.

The Ministers continued discussions held in recent days on the escalation of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone.

Edward Nalbandian stressed, that large-scale military actions unleashed by Azerbaijan have seriously damaged the negotiation process of Nagorno-Karabakh settlement and the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. According to the Minister, urgent tangible steps are required for stabilization of the situation.

Sergey Lavrov underlined, that from the very beginning of the escalation, Russia exerted efforts for ceasefire. He considered the use of force in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone unacceptable, attached importance to the observation of the agreement on maintenance of the cease-fire and exclusion of re-occurrence of such situations, creation of appropriate conditions for continuation of the negotiation process within the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Russia attached importance to the implementation of the proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs on consolidation of cease-fire.

Sergey Lavrov informed Edward Nalbandian about Russian-Azerbaijani meetings held in Baku.

The Ministers reflected on the process of implementation of agreements reached by the leadership of Armenia and Russia on cooperation in different areas, the bilateral agenda of Armenian-Russian relations.

The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Russia discussed a range of international and regional issues, touched upon the situation unfolding in the Middle East, issues of protection of minorities, particularly Christians, efforts of the international community in the fight against terrorism.