Pashinyan to Lavrov: Azerbaijan's actions do not contribute to progress in trilateral dialogue
YEREVAN, May 6. /ARKA/. Armenia's acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told the visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov today that Azerbaijan's actions do not contribute to progress in the trilateral dialogue.
The trilateral commission chaired by deputy prime ministers of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan was set up by the leaders of these countries to deal with the reopening of transport links between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which stems from a statement they signed in Moscow on January 11.
According to Pashinyan, Baku is manipulating the issue of Armenian POWs and other detainees refusing to repatriate them. It also stages an anti-Armenian bacchanalia, making territorial claims against Armenia, and now started destroying the Armenian cultural and religious heritage (in areas that fell under its control after last autumn's 44-day war), along with escalation of tension in the region and disruption of the earlier reached agreements.
In this context, Pashinyan praised the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs for their latest statement, which Pashinyan said came as their response to the destructive position of Azerbaijan.
In their April 13 statement, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs from Russia, USA and France stressed that special attention should be paid to the achievement of a final comprehensive and sustainable settlement to the Karabakh conflict on the basis of the elements and principles 'well-known to the sides.'
In this respect, the co-chairs called on the parties to resume high-level political dialogue under their auspices at the earliest opportunity. They reiterated their proposal to organize direct bilateral consultations under their auspices, in order for the sides to review and agree jointly upon a structured agenda, reflecting their priorities, without preconditions.
“The opinion of the co-chairs, expressed in their statement of April 13, is consonant with our position on the main problems existing today. In this regard, I want to emphasize our position on the need to resume the peace process in order to achieve a final settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the basis of the principles proposed by the co-chairs,” Pashinyan said.
The Prime Minister also assured that Armenia will continue to take all measures to implement the agreements reached in the trilateral statements of November 9, 2020 and January 11, 2021.
“We are also ready to make every effort to ensure a constructive dialogue between the parties in a trilateral format,” Pashinyan said.
He especially noted the role of Russian President Vladimir Putin in achieving peace in the region, as well as his efforts aimed at creating conditions for the normal life in Nagorno-Karabakh.
In turn, Lavrov said that the Russian side highly appreciates the achievement of agreements on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.
“We are grateful to you for appreciating the role of Russia and President Putin personally in the efforts that made it possible to stop the hostilities and agree on a stable framework for further actions by all sides,” he said. -0-
