RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER’S VISIT TO YEREVAN SYMBOLIC

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.01.2010 15:39 GMT+04:00

The visit of the Russian Foreign Minister to Armenia during days
when Moscow is preparing for the visit of Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has a symbolic meaning, Ruben Safrastyan ,
Professor and director of RA NAS Institute of Oriental Studies told
PanARMENIAN.Net.

" official Moscow demonstrates that Russia consults with Armenia
when it is discussing issues with Ankara. In this regard, the
forthcoming visit of the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is
not an accidental," the scientist said, adding that Russia seeks to
strengthen its position in the South Caucasus.

On January 13, Sergei Lavrov will arrive in Yerevan. The meetings
with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian are scheduled. The Turkish Prime Minister will arrive in
Moscow on January 12. According to Turkish media reports, political,
regional, economic issues, including the Karabakh conflict and
Armenian-Turkish relations normalization will be discussed during
the talks in Moscow.

The protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of
the common border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich
by Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish
counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of
diplomatic talks held through Swiss mediation.

The Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) is a de facto independent republic
located in the South Caucasus, bordering by Azerbaijan to the north
and east, Iran to the south, and Armenia to the west.

After the Soviet Union established control over the area, in 1923
it formed the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) within the
Azerbaijan SSR. In the final years of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan
launched an ethnic cleansing which resulted in the Karabakh War that
was fought from 1991 to 1994.

Since the ceasefire in 1994, most of Nagorno Karabakh and several
regions of Azerbaijan around it (the security zone) remain under the
control of Nagorno Karabakh defense army.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have since been holding peace talks mediated
by the OSCE Minsk Group.