Vadim Dubnov on the results of the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia and the situation in Karabakh

Baku/26.07.23/Turan: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke about the results of the meeting held on July 25 with the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia, Ceyhun Bayramov and Ararat Mirzoyan. In his comments, Lavrov conveyed several key messages in both bilateral and trilateral formats:

The issue of guarantees of the rights and security of Karabakh Armenians will be approached in the context of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

The Armenian side recognizes the importance of immediate efforts to convince the Karabakh Armenians to interact with the representatives of Azerbaijan, coordinating their rights within the legal framework of Azerbaijan and international obligations.

The most important goal is to ensure unhindered movement and unblocking of transport and economic communications throughout the region.

Russia adheres to its position that the delimitation of the border should be preceded by the signing of a peace treaty between Baku and Yerevan.

The Armenian side, like Azerbaijan, is ready to provide equivalent guarantees to national minorities living on its territory.

Lavrov stressed the need to achieve a constructive result with the help of a trilateral working group headed by three deputy prime Ministers, which is tasked with solving specific issues related to unblocking transport communications in the region.

Moreover, Russia recognizes the interest of both the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides in using not only the Russian Federation as an intermediary, but also other potential intermediaries.

In addition, Russia plans to convene another summit with the participation of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia later this year.

Arkady Dubnov, a columnist for Radio Liberty and an expert on Central Asia, offered his analysis of Lavrov's statements during the "Difficult Question" program. According to Dubnov, the Moscow meeting is a continuation of the Brussels meeting with the participation of senior officials of both countries. He believes that this indicates that the alleged rivalry between the West and Moscow in the negotiation process is exaggerated. Instead, the process was coordinated by both sides from the very beginning, and the current results are the result of this cooperation.

Dubnov further suggests that this coordination was carried out by increasing pressure on Yerevan. At the same time, Baku is expanding the scope of discussion, which forces Moscow and the West to deal with a wider range of issues that go beyond their initial assumptions.