Russia regrets Armenian foreign minister's decision to reject scheduled meeting with Azerbaijani counterpart

YEREVAN, December 22. /ARKA/. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has refused to participate in a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov that was scheduled for December 23, the Russian Foreign Ministry said today.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the foreign ministers were to meet in Moscow to discuss a set of issues concerning preparation of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In a telephone conversation with Bayramov, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Yerevan’s decision was 'regrettable.'

Lavrov stressed the importance of respecting the trilateral statements of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia made on 9 November 2020, 11 January and 26 November 2021, and 31 October 2022.

Lavrov also discussed with Bayramov the situation in the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, which has worsened due to the blocking of the Lachin corridor and disagreements between the parties on the development of ore deposits in the region, the Russian Foreign Ministry's website reported.

"Lavrov stressed the need for strict observance of trilateral agreements to ensure unimpeded communication between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia through the Lachin corridor," the statement said.

On December 12, Azerbaijani authorities initiated massive campaign of state-sponsored protests along the Lachin corridor having blocked the only supply route in and out of Nagorno-Karabakh creating an evolving humanitarian crisis.

At least 1,100 civilians have been stranded along the blocked highway for the past 10 days, and transferring patients for urgent treatment to Armenian hospitals has become impossible, which has already resulted in fatality of a critically ill patient.

By orchestrating the blockade of the Lachin corridor Azerbaijan has effectively targeted a population of 120,000 people by isolating them in precarious humanitarian conditions during the winter season.

On December 21 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Azerbaijan must 'take all necessary and sufficient measures to ensure the movement of seriously ill patients in need of medical care in Armenia, through the Lachin corridor, as well as the safe movement of persons left homeless on the road or in need of a livelihood." -0-