On 29 December, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Sochi to discuss international issues and help prepare for a meeting of the two countries’ presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Lavrov stressed that despite the coronavirus pandemic, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin remain in close contact – this year they met in person three times, took part in a videoconference in the Astana format, and had nearly two dozen phone conversations. “We have a very rich international agenda: the Astana format for the settlement of the Syrian conflict, our cooperation on the settlement of Libya, and the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is now a priority,” Lavrov emphasized.

Of special importance to the two FM’s was the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh. “Despite all the difficulties Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev extended his hand of peace to Armenia and demonstrated his good intention. Our dear President… reiterated that if there is lasting peace, as Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia we can normalise our relations,” stated Cavusoglu. He also noted that several steps should be taken, including the Caucasus Peace platform which was suggested by Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (Caucasus Watch reported). “Our shared opinion is that the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh should not be used as attempts for infiltration of foreign mercenaries into this region,” Lavrov emphasised.  

The Russian Foreign Ministry even named the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as its biggest achievement in 2020. “Thanks to the mediation of Russia, armed clashes have ended, and peace has been restored in Nagorno-Karabakh. The population received emergency humanitarian assistance; conditions were created to return refugees and displaced persons. Moreover, a peacekeeping operation was launched, creating a joint Russian-Turkish centre for monitoring the cessation of hostilities,” the official statement emphasised.

Economic and military-technical cooperation were amongst the other discussed issues between the two FM’s. “We have noted the decrease in our trade turnover under coronavirus restrictions… and discussed the importance of what measures should be taken to restore trade turnover to a dynamic level. We talked about our huge projects, the Turkish Stream gas pipeline, the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant and others,” Lavrov stated. “Both sides are interested in developing military-technical cooperation between our countries. Despite Washington's illegitimate pressure, we appreciate the principled position of our Turkish colleagues on the continuation of our relationships in the field of military-technical cooperation,” he added.

Prior to the meeting, Cavusoglu held a telephone conversation with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov. “Azerbaijan's border security and territorial integrity must be within the framework of international law. We will discuss future steps in this regard,” Cavusoglu was noted saying during the telephone conversation. The Azerbaijani MFA also released a statement, highlighting its main foreign policy priorities for the year 2021. “The main efforts are to develop cooperation based on the principles of mutual respect and equality in our bilateral and multilateral relations, to involve friendly countries and partner international organisations in the restoration of the liberated territories of Azerbaijan, to promote new cooperation and development initiatives in the region, as well as large-scale regional energy and transport. It will be aimed at strengthening Azerbaijan's position and further enhancing its prestige in the international arena by ensuring the successful implementation of infrastructure projects,” the statement read.