On August 31, Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan, who is on a working visit in Russia, had a meeting with Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov.

At the extended meeting following the tet-a-tet talks, the Foreign Minister of Russia welcomed Ararat Mirzoyan on his first visit to Moscow, adding that during his tenure as a Speaker of the Parliament of Armenia, Mirzoyan had already managed to build a strong partnership with his Russian counterparts. The Foreign Minister of Armenia noted that this visit demonstrates the readiness of the Armenian side to further promote bilateral allied relations based on the centuries-old ties of friendship and brotherhood.

Foreign Ministers Ararat Mirzoyan and Sergey Lavrov discussed in detail a wide range of key issues on the Armenian-Russian relations, as well as on the international and regional agenda. In this context, the sides emphasized the importance of regular contacts at the highest levels.

"We assume that the allied states are objectively interested and guided by the principles of mutual assistance in favor of increasing the allied capabilities, both in security, economy and other spheres," said Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan. They also exchanged views on current issues of bilateral agenda within the framework of intergovernmental economic cooperation, as well as inter-parliamentary commision and commission on military-technical cooperation.

The issues of regional peace and stability were among the key topics of the meeting. In this context, Minister Mirzoyan noted: "Peace and stability in the region are our strategy and we are ready for an active dialogue in that direction. However, the situation in the region is rather tense, which is largely due to Azerbaijan's destructive policy. I would like to state that Baku is not fulfilling its obligations under the trilateral statement of the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan signed on November 9, 2020, which was achieved due to the personal efforts of Vladimir Putin. Moreover, in violation of international law, Azerbaijan is taking blatant provocative actions, which are a direct encroachment on the sovereign territory of Armenia, which we have been facing since May 12 this year. All these actions are accompanied by the continuous aggressive Armenophobic rhetoric of the Azerbaijani authorities."

Touching upon the current situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan stressed the key role of Russia in the work carried out within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship and the need to resume the negotiation process under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship as soon as possible, without preconditions, for a just settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

At the end of the meeting, the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Russia Ararat Mirzoyan and Sergey Lavrov came up with a joint press conference.