(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) Details added: first version posted on February 28,
20:05
BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 28. Minister of
Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov has
received a delegation led by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia
Sergey Lavrov, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told trend .
Bayramov and Lavrov held one-on-one meeting first, which
continued with an expanded meeting including delegations from both
sides. The officials discussed relevant topics of bilateral and
multilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia, as well as
the current situation in the region.
Noting the existence of an agenda for effective cooperation
between Azerbaijan and Russia in various fields, including
political, economic, trade, transport, transit, cultural,
humanitarian, educational and others, Bayramov stressed the
importance of political dialogue and mutual visits between the two
countries in the development of relations.
He spoke in detail about the current situation in the region in
the post-conflict period [following the 2020 second Karabakh war],
peacekeeping and constructive efforts of the country in the
direction of ensuring the implementation of trilateral statements
[of November 10, 2020 and January 11, 2021 signed by Azerbaijani,
Armenian and Russian leaders after the second Karabakh war] on
establishing peace and security in the region.
The minister noted that Azerbaijan constantly faces the
unconstructive position of Armenia in the normalization of
relations between the two states, including provocations, which are
detrimental to the peace agenda.
Besides, Bayramov said that another example of violation of the
provisions of the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020 by
Armenia was the abuse of Azerbaijan's Lachin-Khankendi road,
intended for use exclusively for humanitarian purposes, which
caused a fair protest of the civil society of Azerbaijan.
Lavrov noted that his official visit this year coincided with
the first anniversary of the signing of the Declaration on Allied
Cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia, which played an
important role in the development of relations between the two
countries.
In this regard, the Russian minister noted the importance of the
existing legal framework in the development of existing relations
between the two countries in various fields. He also emphasized the
importance of fulfilling the obligations arising from the
trilateral statement of November 10, 2020 and the agreements
reached between the Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders to
ensure peace and stability in the South Caucasus.
Then, at a briefing, the ministers held made press statements on
the meeting and answered questions.
The peaceful protest on the Lachin-Khankendi road against the
illegal exploitation of Azerbaijan's mineral resources in the area
of Russian peacekeepers' temporary deployment has been going on
since December 12, 2022.
Previously, following the talks with the Russian peacekeepers'
command on December 3 and 7, 2022, a group of experts from the
Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the State Property
Service under the Ministry of Economy, and AzerGold CJSC were going
to begin preliminary monitoring of the illicit mineral resource
exploitation, as well as emerging environmental implications on
Azerbaijani lands, where the Russian peacekeepers are temporarily
deployed, on December 10, 2022.
The expert team was expected to inspect the environmental
condition at the 'Gizilbulagh' gold deposit and the 'Damirli'
copper-molybdenum deposit, monitor various areas, organize
cadastral property records, assess potential risks and threats to
the environment, as well as to underground and surface water
sources.
However, the expert group, accompanied by Russian peacekeepers,
faced provocations when arriving in the monitoring area. The
planned initial inspection and monitoring did not take place due to
the fact that the Russian peacekeepers not only did not create
necessary conditions but also prevented the entire process from
carrying on.