On 11 May, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Baku where he met with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev as well as with the country’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov.

The Russian Foreign Ministry stated prior to Lavrov’s visit that “the Russian side is determined to continue an open and mutually respectful dialogue across the whole spectrum of relations with Azerbaijan - in politics, economics, and the cultural and humanitarian spheres.” Particular attention was paid to the comprehensive implementation of the statements of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia of 9 November 2020 and 11 January 2021. They planned to consider the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, the humanitarian aspects of the Karabakh settlements, post-conflict rehabilitation, and the establishment of a peaceful life. Among the main objectives is the unblocking of all transport and economic links in the region. 

The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Russia also discussed the coordination of cooperation within the leading regional and international associations - CIS, UN, OSCE, Non-Aligned Movement, Council of Europe and BSEC. “Taking into account the need to maintain a balance of power in the region, Russian-Azerbaijani military-technical cooperation is significant,” the statement further emphasised.

“As you know, we have a constant dialogue and are in regular contact with [Russia’s President] Vladimir Putin. We actively interact both within the framework of the bilateral agenda and within the framework of the situation related to post-conflict development in our region. I must say that the current situation, the post-conflict situation, of course, dictates the need for closer contacts at all levels. I also know that you have very close contacts with your Azerbaijani counterpart. All this leads to the fact that we are witnessing positive development, the strengthening of security, the strengthening of stability, the minimisation of the risk of renewed hostilities and the desire to turn this page, the black page of our history,” stated Aliyev at the meeting with Lavrov. “In any case, Azerbaijan is ready for this. Numerous high-level statements testify to our position in terms of the development of communication projects, which were also mentioned in the Statement on the results of the war in November, and extensive work is underway in this direction,” he added.

“Along with this, I would also like to express my position in connection with what is happening in Armenia, in particular, the growing Azerbaijanophobia trends, which, in my opinion, are the only factor today that holds the government and the opposition in Armenia together. The anti-Azerbaijani hysteria has already crossed all boundaries, and it is completely unfounded. Therefore, the processes taking place in Armenia, including the statements by various political forces about the possibility of re-occupying a part of the internationally recognised Azerbaijani territory, statements reeking of revanchism, are very dangerous, of course, and first of all for the Armenian side because the second Karabakh war clearly demonstrated what this policy of hatred and Azerbaijanophobia had led to. Therefore, we very much look forward to continuing, in cooperation with Russia, our strategic partner, to work hard on normalising the situation in the region,” Aliyev underscored. “From the point of view of the military aspect, we can consider the situation to have already been normalised, but from the point of view of political, economic, transport and other aspects of future interaction, of course, there is a lot to be done,” he added.

Lavrov, on his behalf, focused on the aspects of intergovernmental cooperation and the comprehensive development of humanitarian, educational and cultural projects between the two countries. He also expressed his assistance in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, announcing that another batch of the Sputnik V vaccine will be sent to Azerbaijan. 

However, the main point of Lavrov’s visit was the situation in Karabakh. “Just like you, we are also fully committed to the implementation of the agreements on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement in accordance with the statement of the three leaders on 9 November and in accordance with the results of your meeting in Moscow on 11 January. Our peacekeeping contingent is carrying out the tasks you agreed on during these contacts with the leaderships of Russia and Armenia, and we are grateful for the high assessment of the role of our peacekeepers. We will do everything to ensure that, as you stressed, everyone proceeds from the fact that the military aspects are over with. We now need to deal with details on the ground. There are issues related to delimitation, demarcation, not everything is simple, but everything can be solved. We are convinced that military experts with the participation of diplomats can agree on mutually acceptable solutions,” Lavrov stated. 

“Of course, I want to emphasise that we are sincerely interested in the normalisation of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. We believe that joint work focused on the economic aspects of overcoming the protracted conflict creates the best framework for this, and, of course, issues related to resolving the humanitarian consequences of the war. You have mentioned prisoners of war and the unacceptability of abuse related to the historical heritage, religious heritage. We do want to help resolve all this as constructively as possible. UNESCO, as an organisation responsible for the preservation of international cultural heritage, is interested in participating in these efforts. We are ready to help create the conditions that will make this possible,” he added. “But I agree with you, 100 percent, dear Ilham Heydar oglu Aliyev, that the rhetoric that is so unconstructive and unfriendly is not of any help at all. We will strive to contribute to ensuring that the agreements reached by the two presidents and the prime minister of Armenia are implemented in the conditions conducive to constructive results,” Lavrov stressed. 

At the meeting with Bayramov, the Azerbaijani FM emphasised that Azerbaijan fully complies with the obligations of the 9 November trilateral statement. “According to the tripartite agreement, Azerbaijani soldiers also took part in the search for the bodies of Armenian servicemen killed in the war. The Azerbaijani side also helped to find the dead. Immediately after the signing of the agreement, Azerbaijan fulfilled its obligations and provided a safe route through the territory of Azerbaijan,” he said. Bayramov also reiterated Azerbaijan's support for the stabilisation of relations with Armenia. “Azerbaijan is interested in this. We take steps in this direction and will continue to take in the future. As for the Armenian people living in Azerbaijan, we have repeatedly said that we are ready to fulfil our obligations regarding them and do everything for their political, economic, and social integration into Azerbaijani society. We are trying to achieve certain results for the normalisation of relations in the post-conflict period,” he added. “There is development in certain areas. There are no results in some areas yet. We understand that the political situation inside Armenia also affects this. I would like to note that it is important for Armenia to fulfil its obligations in the implementation of the trilateral statements,” he further elaborated. 

Bayramov also stated that the issue of minefield maps in Karabakh still persists. “Despite the end of the war, more than 20 Azerbaijanis were killed because of a mine explosion. Among them, there are servicemen of the Russian peacekeeping forces,” he said. Lavrov responded by saying that Russia hopes that this issue would soon be resolved.