Foreign Ministry: agreements between Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia are still relevant today

The developments in normalizing relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, achieved in 2020–2022 with the assistance of Russia, remain relevant.

It is important to ensure the irreversibility of the peace process through informed decisions and strengthening mutual trust.

MOSCOW, October 6 - RIA Novosti. The developments in normalization between Azerbaijan and Armenia achieved in 2020-2022 with the assistance of Russia are still relevant now, Mikhail Kalugin, director of the fourth department of the CIS countries of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

“All the developments achieved (with Azerbaijan and Armenia - ed.) in 2020-2022 with the assistance of the Russian side are still relevant now,” Kalugin said.

The diplomat noted that in this situation it is important to ensure the irreversibility of the peace process through informed decisions and strengthening mutual trust.

“The trilateral format with Russia’s participation was initially focused on solving precisely such complex problems - without harming the interests of any of the parties, and reaching mutually acceptable compromises,” the director of the department emphasized.

On February 20, 1988, people's deputies of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region (NKAO) addressed the Supreme Soviet of the USSR with a request to transfer NKAO to the Armenian SSR. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and armed conflict with Azerbaijan in 1992-1994, the region existed for many years as an unrecognized republic inhabited by Armenians. In September 2020, fighting resumed in Karabakh. With the mediation of Moscow, on the night of November 10 of the same year, the parties agreed to a ceasefire. The Armenian side lost all areas around Nagorno-Karabakh and a number of territories that were part of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Okrug during Soviet times. Russian peacekeepers are stationed in the region.