On 19 May, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov proposed to create a joint commission to demarcate the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia at a press conference with his Tajik counterpart Sirojiddin Mukhriddin. 

“We informed our friends in detail about the efforts that Russia is making to resolve the incident that arose due to the lack of international legal registration of the state border,” Lavrov noted. “By prior agreement with the parties, Russia offered to assist at the beginning of the delimitation and demarcation of the border, taking the initiative on the creation of a joint Armenian-Azerbaijani commission for this purpose, in which the Russian Federation could take part as a consultant, mediator," he added. 

In the meantime, the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) was taking place in Dushanbe where the matter was discussed. “The CSTO is concerned and closely follows the developments in the bordering regions of Armenia’s Syunik province. We record that there is no alternative to the implementation of the 9 November 2020 trilateral arrangements,” stated the CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas. “We see the perspective of establishing lasting peace there. No shots are fired already. But the situation is yet tense,” he added.

That the situation was still tense at the border was also confirmed by Armenia’s acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. “The situation is stable but tense, and, on the other hand, I must emphasise that it is unacceptable for us. Because our position is clear and definite – sub-divisions of Azerbaijani armed forces must leave the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia,” he said, adding that Armenian Armed Forces are carrying out tactical actions but Armenia’s position is that the situation must be resolved in a diplomatic way, peacefully. 

Pashinyan also stressed that the consultations with the CSTO continue. “Perhaps, the process does not proceed as expediently as we would prefer it to, but there are collective security mechanisms and we continue consistent work to operate them,” he highlighted.

The Armenian Ministry of Defence reported that additional troops were deployed to the area, depriving the Azerbaijanis of any opportunity, even theoretically, to carry out any actions. It added that the only reasonable solution to the standoff is for them to return to their original positions. It was also reported by the MOD that no Azerbaijani representatives turned up on 19 May for the talks that were to resume on the settlement of the border crisis. 

In the meantime, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov held a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu to discuss the ongoing tensions. Bayramov said that Azerbaijani troops were taking up positions on the country's own borders and added that the Armenian leadership is trying to politicise the issue ahead of the June snap parliamentary elections. Earlier, Bayramov stated that Armenia's appeal to the CSTO over the tensions related to the delimitation and demarcation of the two states' borders has no basis and is nothing but an attempt by the Armenian authorities to politicise the issue.