Moscow Encourages Dialogue Between Artsakh and Baku: Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Moscow supports Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's position that issues concerning the security and rights of the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh should be resolved directly between representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh and Baku.

At a joint press conference in Moscow with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, the Russian chief diplomat emphasized that Moscow encourages both sides to pursue this dialogue. Lavrov also mentioned that Armenia is keenly interested in this matter and referred to the situation related to Donbas: “Of course, it is important for us to understand how qualitative these agreements will be. If you wish to know my opinion, there have been many examples throughout recent history where similar points were raised in the Minsk agreements regarding the rights of residents. The eastern part of Ukraine should have the right to its native language, to be educated in that language, to live and work in that language, to preserve their culture, religion, and to have local self-governance, as well as special ties with their compatriots. In the case of Donbas, it was Russia that spoke about this,” Lavrov noted.

According to him, the agreement signed between Pristina and Belgrade ten years ago also provided for rights related to language, local self-governance, education, and culture. In Lavrov's view, nearly the same rights will be necessary for the residents of Artsakh in the context of affirming the commitment of the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to the provisions of the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration.

“Everything depends on how dignified those will be who will be responsible for the implementation of the agreements that have been reached. In the case of Donbas, there can be no talk of any decency,” added the head of Russia's foreign ministry.