FM’s Mirzoyan and Lavrov Hold Talks in Antalya

ANYALYA — The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Russia Ararat Mirzoyan and Sergey Lavrov held on Thursday talks on the sidelines of Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey.

Lavrov discussed with Mirzoyan the implementation of Russian-brokered agreements to ease tensions on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and unblock transport links between the two South Caucasus nations.

Lavrov’s talks with Mirzoyan followed an upsurge in ceasefire violations along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border as well as in Nagorno-Karabakh where several villages were shelled by Azerbaijani forces in recent days. Russian peacekeeping troops stationed in Karabakh reportedly intervened in to prevent a further escalation of the tensions.

“We haven’t seen each other in a while, and a lot has accumulated,” Mirzoyan told Lavrov at the start of their meeting held in the Turkish resort city of Antalya.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry said he briefed Lavrov on the consequences of Azerbaijan’s “provocative actions” and called for “necessary steps to ease the tensions and prevent incidents” in the conflict zone.

The two ministers agreed on the need to restart Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations on a “comprehensive and lasting settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” the ministry said in a statement.

Lavrov and Mirzoyan also discussed Russian-Armenian “allied relations” and ways of “further reinforcing” them, added the statement.

In his opening remarks publicized by the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Lavrov stressed the importance of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s official visit to Moscow scheduled for the beginning of next month.

“I am confident that it will help to further advance our allied relations,” he said.