On April 22, Edward Nalbandian, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia, met Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation.

The talks started in a tete-a-tete format, and then continued in the presence of delegations.

Welcoming Sergey Lavrov, Minister Nalbandian stressed, that they held meetings on frequent basis, both in Yerevan, Moscow and different international organizations. Minister Nalbandian attached importance to the S. Lavrov’s visit to Yerevan, which creates a good opportunity for discussion of the process of implementation of agreements reached by the Presidents of the two states.

Edward Nalbandian added, “The visit of the Foreign Minister of Russia to Armenia is being paid in the situation unfolded due to the aggressive military actions launched by Azerbaijan, and, naturally, the most significant part of our today’s discussions will be on the steps to be undertaken towards overcoming of the consequences.

However, not everything could be improved, there are victims, and it is irreversible." He stressed, that calls and appeals are not sufficient anymore to bring Baku back to senses and definite steps are needed to bring Azerbaijan to order and into a constructive field. The Minister of Foreign Affairs highlighted that Azerbaijan should not cherish illusions that it is able to solve the issue through military means.

Expressing gratitude for the reception, Sergey Lavrov mentioned that he is glad to be in Yerevan, where they always get traditionally warm reception, and attached significance to sincere and constructive discussions on all the issues of the allied Armenian-Russian relations.

Reflecting on the escalation of situation in the NK conflict-zone, Minister Lavrov expressed condolences to the families and relatives of the deceased in the result of hostilities of early April.

The interlocutors shared the view that the use of force in unacceptable and that there is no alternative to the negotiated settlement. They stressed the importance of trilateral agreements of 1994 on cease-fire and of 1995 on the cease-fire consolidation in the NK conflict, which have no time limitations and the necessity of their firm and full implementation. In this context, the Ministers highlighted the urgency of creation of a mechanism of cease-fire violations.

Edward Nalbandian and Sergey Lavrov held thorough a discussion on the cooperation between Armenia and Russia in political, military-technical, trade and economic, decentralized, humanitarian and other fields. Implementation of agreements on the improvement of Armenia’s defense capacities was touched upon.

The Ministers exchanged thoughts on the activity of Armenian-Russian Inter-governmental Committee, inter-parliamentary contacts.

The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Russia reflected on the schedule of regular consultations held between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Russia. Attention was focused on the issues of cooperation within the UN, CSTO, EAEU, CIS, OSCE, CoE and other international organizations.

The situation unfolded in the Middle East, international community’s fight against terrorism, other regional and international issues were on the agenda of the talks.

A joint press conference followed the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Russia.