PM Pashinyan and Russian OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair Discuss Karabakh Conflict and Regional Security

YEREVAN — Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received on Wednesday Igor Khovayev, the Russian co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group and a special envoy of Russian Foreign Minister, the Armenian government press office reported.

It said the two men discussed a string of issues related to the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh that has arisen because of Azerbaijan’s illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor, the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the reopening of regional transport infrastructure.

Pashinyan was said to present to Khovayev the Armenian side’s approaches to the settlement of existing key issues.

Igor Khovaev also met with Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan.

Grigoryan and Khovaev discussed the latest developments in the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Secretary of the Security Council presented to the interlocutor the positions of the Armenian side on a number of issues of the settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.

Referring to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, the parties stressed that the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh should be respected and protected. The Russian side emphasized that the Lachin Corridor should be opened and operate within the framework of the November 9 tripartite declaration.