On 3 December, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Azerbaijan where he met with President Ilham Aliyev, as well as with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov. 

The bilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia, as well as discussions for the upcoming meeting between Mammadyarov and his Armenian counterpart Zohrab Mnatsakanyan were the topics of discussion. “The relationship between Russia and Azerbaijan is strategic, as well as based on mutual trust and faith,” Lavrov said at a press conference following the meeting with Mammadyarov.  He also stated that he and Mammadyarov [managed] the task set by Presidents in the direction of deepening the relations of parliaments and ministries, as well as humanitarian issues, such as cultural cooperation. Special importance was given to military-technical cooperation. “We implement[ed] this cooperation [to keep] the balance of the region within the framework of maintaining stability,” Lavrov said, adding that there were “interesting ideas“ regarding the future of military-technical cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia.

Regarding the scheduled meeting between Mammadyarov and his Armenian counterpart Mnatsaknyan on 4 December, Lavrov stated that the parties  “will try to adopt a joint statement of two ministers“. “My Armenian counterpart has stated that he will discuss the issues of status of Nagorno-Karabakh and security in the meeting with me [in] Bratislava tomorrow. The principal approach related to the status is clear. The points in question are the whole population of Nagorno-Karabakh and the return of internally displaced people to their normal lives. We think if there is progress, let it be not under a gun tube, but in independent form, at the expense of mutual contacts,“ he said.

Lavrov also commented on the mutual visits of Armenian and Azerbaijani journalists that recently took place (Caucasus Watch reported). “We consider mutual visits of journalists important. Russia is one of the authors of this initiative. It is important to build relations between the population and the people. Any decision should be made by the whole population of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh. The more journalists who cover this area, the more the goals we hope to achieve will be more sustainable. Inter-community meetings have been held before and must be resumed. 

This is a promising topic. Communities of Nagorno-Karabakh should discuss the future,” he said.

Mammadyarov also expressed his hopes for the upcoming meeting. “We have to go [deeper into] this issue, the absence of neither war nor peace bears fruit. It is time to get rid of points that make the process complicated,” he stated. He emphasized that the return of internally displaced persons (IDP’s), the establishment of mutual relations, and the construction of roads were the issues that should be resolved between him and Mnatsaknyan. 

Another important aspect for Mammadyarov was defining security between the two sides. “What is security in our thought, what is security in the thought of Armenian side, this should be paid attention,” he said. “I would like to reiterate that firstly; the armed forces should return to barracks. Thereby the creation of a trust environment can be achieved rapidly. Security is important. While the Armenian side brings… the security of the Armenian population of Karabakh [to the forefront], the Azerbaijani side will always raise the issue of security of Azerbaijani population of Nagorno-Karabakh after the IDPs return to their places of residence. [T]his will happen anyway sooner or later, they will return firstly to the 5 regions, later on  to 7 regions and finally, when relevant opportunities are available, to Nagorno-Karabakh as a whole. A report is needed for this purpose. In this regard, we have appealed to the co-chairs so that they would develop a special report in order to clearly evaluate the situation. There should be an accurate evaluation regarding the procedure of the solution of the security issues. And for this purpose, it is important to conduct serious, substantive and thematic negotiations. I hope that tomorrow in Bratislava we will open just a new phase of the thematic negotiations,” he concluded.