Russian ambassador has been appointed to assist Armenia and Azerbaijan in finalising a peace accord

According to Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, a special envoy has been established to support restoration of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

She stated that Baku's basic principles for the creation of interstate ties between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which Yerevan agreed were acceptable with minor changes, will serve as the foundation for the start of Azerbaijani-Armenian peace treaty discussions.

"Russia is committed to seeing that a peace treaty between Yerevan and Baku is signed," she stated.

She also stated that Ambassador at Large Igor Khovaev (Russian co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict) will serve as the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs' special representative to support restoration of ties between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

United States and United Kingdom debate peace and reconciliation measures in South Caucasus

Wendy Sherman, the United States' Deputy Secretary of State, met with James Cleverly, the United Kingdom's Minister of State for Europe and North America, in Washington.

The two sides addressed "bilateral collaboration to enhance South Caucasus peace and reconciliation initiatives," according to a readout from the State Department.

The action comes at a time when the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia made their first direct phone contact, something that Washington has been advocating for some time.

Earlier, James Cleverly communicated with the Azerbaijani foreign minister before to his travel to Washington. Last month, a similar call was made to Yerevan.

Sherman and Cleverly addressed "continuing tight US-UK collaboration to hold the Kremlin responsible for its heinous atrocities in Putin's unprovoked and unlawful war against Ukraine" during their discussion at the State Department, according to the DoS readout.

The chances for a peace accord between Yerevan and Baku discussed by Mirzoyan and Lavrov

Ararat Mirzoyan and Sergey Lavrov, Armenia's and Russia's foreign ministers, discussed the chances for Armenia and Azerbaijan reaching an agreement on a peace treaty with Moscow's help.

“The Ministers exchanged views on the implementation of the agreements between the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia dated November 9th, 2020, January 11th and November 26th, 2021, with an emphasis on further steps to unblock transport communications in the region and delimit the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. They also touched upon the prospects for agreeing on a peaceful agreement between Yerevan and Baku with Russian assistance,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement following the phone conversation.

The Foreign Ministers also talked about bilateral and regional problems.

The United States ready to assist Armenia and Azerbaijan in achieving a comprehensive peace

The United States stands ready to assist Armenia and Azerbaijan in achieving a comprehensive peace, including through the OSCE Minsk Group. This was stated by the head of the press service of the US State Department, Ned Price, at a regular briefing for journalists.

“We remain committed to promoting a peaceful, democratic, and prosperous future for the South Caucasus region. We welcomed the meeting between Prime Minister (Armenia) Nikol Pashinyan and President (Azerbaijan) Ilham Aliyev held in Brussels on April 6, including the positive dynamics of preparations for peace talks and the formation of a bilateral commission on border delimitation,” Price department added.

It was also recalled that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, during telephone conversations with Pashinyan and Aliyev on April 5, the day before their meeting in Brussels, continued to “encourage further peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”

"The Secretary of State reaffirmed that the United States is ready to work bilaterally with like-minded partners, including as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, to help countries achieve long-term comprehensive peace," Price said.

Azerbaijan and Russia are considering a trilateral accord on Nagorno-Karabakh

Azerbaijan and Russia have addressed a range of regional problems, including the actual execution of the trilateral agreements signed by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Russia, and Armenia on November 10, 2020, January 11, and November 26, 2021. The topic was discussed during a meeting between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko and Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbuloglu.

They also conferred on the development of bilateral ties, particularly in the context of putting the requirements of the Declaration on Allied Interaction between Russia and Azerbaijan into practise.

Azerbaijan and Russia work together in several areas, including the economy, agriculture, customs, communications, high technology, and others. Azerbaijani investments in Russia's economy have surpassed $1.2 billion, with the non-oil sector accounting for many of these investments. Furthermore, Russian investments in the Azerbaijani economy totalled $6.3 billion, including $5 billion in the oil industry and $1.3 billion in non-oil industries. In 2021, Azerbaijan's trade turnover with Russia was $2.9 billion, becoming Russia Azerbaijan's third-largest trading partner.

French MFA: "France works with Yerevan and Baku on peace treaty and Karabakh settlement"

The French Foreign Ministry has released a statement about its participation in the OSCE Minsk Group.

“France reiterates its entire commitment to promoting peace and stability in the South Caucasus, both bilaterally and in its position as President of the European Union and Co-Chair of the Minsk Group,” according to a statement posted on the French Foreign Ministry's website.

"Work continues with Armenia and Azerbaijan to make progress on humanitarian issues, support work on border demarcation, the unblocking of the region, heritage preservation, the conclusion of a peace treaty between the two countries and the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This is, in particular, the essence of the February 4 meeting organised via videoconference at the initiative of the President of the French Republic with the Prime Minister of Armenia, the President of Azerbaijan and the President of the Council of Europe," the statement says.

During a meeting with Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan in Yerevan on Monday, French co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Brice Roquefeuil emphasised the importance of a comprehensive and long-term settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

The French diplomat arrived in Armenia after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated at a joint press conference with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan in Moscow on April 8 that "the United States and France, in a Russophobe frenzy... have cancelled the co-chairing troika of the OSCE Minsk Group, saying that they will not communicate with Russia in this format."