MOSCOW: Moscow is set to host a meeting between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan on Friday, with the aim of finding a resolution to the long-standing territorial dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, Russia announced.
The talks follow multiple rounds of negotiations led by the European Union and the United States, a development that has caused some concern for Russia, the traditional regional power-broker.
According to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, the trilateral meeting involving the foreign ministers of Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan will take place on May 19 in Moscow.
Prior to these talks, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov are expected to discuss a draft peace treaty.
Conflict Between Azerbaijan and Armenia
The conflict between Baku and Yerevan has resulted in two wars, one in the 1990s and another in 2020, both centered around the control of Nagorno-Karabakh, a region within Azerbaijan with a predominantly Armenian population.
After six weeks of hostilities in 2020, a Russian-brokered ceasefire was established, resulting in Armenia relinquishing control over significant territories it had held for several decades.
Armenia has expressed growing frustration over what it perceives as Russia’s failure to protect it from military threats posed by Azerbaijan.
With Russia deeply involved in the Ukrainian conflict and reluctant to strain its relations with Turkey, Azerbaijan’s key ally, the United States and the European Union have stepped up their diplomatic engagement in an effort to guide the negotiations.
Recently, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met in Brussels for a fresh round of talks hosted by European Council President Charles Michel.
Another meeting between Pashinyan and Aliyev is scheduled for June 1 in Moldova, which is expected to include the participation of French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The Moscow talks represent another opportunity for the parties involved to discuss potential solutions to the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.
As international actors continue to engage in the negotiation process, hopes remain high for a peaceful resolution that can bring stability to the region and foster cooperation between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
