Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandyan

Today, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a short meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Eduard Nalbandyan. Among other things, the officials discussed the situation on the line of contact between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan.

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Answers to media questions:

Question: You said that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandyan discussed the situation on the line of contact. Did they discuss future interaction and cooperation between the two foreign ministries, given the events in Armenia?

Maria Zakharova: This question is both weird and scary. We maintain contact with Yerevan, communication has not been interrupted. Embassies continue to operate, both in Moscow and in Armenia's capital. I cannot really understand what made you ask this question.

Question: Probably the changes in the Armenian leadership.

Maria Zakharova: We proceed from the fact that diplomats serve the people of Russia and the people of Armenia, for their benefit and well-being. It is not the people who have to adjust, but we, diplomats of all kinds, must think about how our countries and peoples live and develop, build a common future, given the historically friendly ties that we have.

Russia has done everything that it can to develop such ties for the benefit of the future. I think that we have nothing to be reproached of. We have fulfilled our obligations and continue to proceed on the basis of these obligations, in connection with the development of bilateral relations and also the regional problem, which is an open wound, for both Armenia and Azerbaijan.

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Question: Could you specify whether the Foreign Ministry sees any prospects for settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the near future?

Maria Zakharova: We have released a comment to this effect, and it remains relevant. Just like many countries in the region and across the world in general, we continue to follow closely the developments in Armenia. As I have already said, our two countries share a long-standing tradition of friendship, have large-scale cooperation in many areas as well as an allied relationship.

It is our sincere hope that the situation remains entirely within the limits of the law and the constitution, and all the political forces act responsibly and show readiness to engage in a constructive dialogue. Russia strongly believes that it would be in the vital interests of brotherly Armenia and its people to ensure that the situation in the country returns back to normal and social accord is restored as quickly as possible.

Taking into consideration that in today's information space people can learn and see how the world lives, what happened over the past few years in various countries, we must act on this knowledge. We must draw conclusions from what is happening around the world and where it is leading.

Question: Does Russia believe that the situation will stabilise and the two sides in the conflict will resume negotiations?

Maria Zakharova: We sincerely hope so, and believe that this would be the right way to go.

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Question: Nikol Pashinyan, the leader of the "velvet revolution" in Armenia, recently met with Russian Ambassador to Armenia Ivan Volynkin. Mr Pashinyan said after the meeting that the protests in the country are not directed against any other nation, including Russia. At the same time US Ambassador Richard Mills met with Acting Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan where the US diplomat in fact repeated Mr Karapetyan's words that the Armenian prime minister may not be elected in the streets, as constitutional mechanisms must be used. Can we say that at present the great powers' preferences are taking shape with regard to Armenia? In particular, does Richard Mills' statement suggest that they are placing their bets not on the opposition and the demonstrators, but on the current authorities?

Maria Zakharova: Asking who the great powers are betting on is insulting to Yerevan, Armenia and its people.

This is a people with a very ancient history, with a culture and state dating back many centuries. I think we have stated unambiguously that the people of Armenia should overcome this political and social crisis themselves. Such situations regularly occur in different countries. The question is whether the people, and also those they have empowered to represent them, show wisdom and peacefully resolve the crisis without bloodshed, or turn it into a lengthy process with an unpredictable result.

We believe this is an internal matter for Armenia, and in accordance with all laws – international law, the laws of life and logic – Armenia should reach a consensus and public accord as to who is going to govern the country and how, which course to choose. We reiterate that it should be based on the laws of the country.

Contacts are ongoing. This is absolutely normal, it is international practice. We do not see anything improper in it. As I said today, contacts are being held at the level of embassies and ministers. It is, of course, the responsibility of the people of Armenia, those who created the country, its culture and history, to find the strength to achieve a wise political settlement of this situation on the basis of the law and the constitution.

Question: Several important meetings have been held recently, including between Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Sergey Naryshkin and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev [in Baku] and between Ilham Aliyev and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey. Is this situation precarious? Could it spin out of control? I am referring to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Maria Zakharova: We don't think the situation will deteriorate.

We have put forth our position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict many times. It must be settled through peaceful political talks and agreements. No complications, including those you mentioned, should be allowed, because this would only worsen the situation. Peaceful negotiations are the only solution to this problem.

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Question: Has Moscow formulated its position on the developments in Armenia, which resulted in the resignation of Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan? The Foreign Ministry and the Kremlin only express the hope that the situation will be settled under the law. But what does Moscow think about the resignation of the prime minister because of large-scale opposition protests?

Maria Zakharova: I believe we have said absolutely clearly that all this is Armenia's internal affair. You may have overlooked this statement.

Question: Does this mean that the actions [that resulted in the prime minister's resignation] were legitimate?

Maria Zakharova: This issue concerns the social development of a sovereign state. This issue should not be discussed officially, but by political analysts and historians who follow these issues and who can assess the trends and the reasons behind them. This is the internal affair of Armenia. I said this today, and I can say it again. Of course, we are urging all sides to show wisdom and to take a responsible attitude to settle this problem based on the constitution.

Question: You say this is the internal affair of Armenia? They just held elections as a result of which…

Maria Zakharova: It would be fair and logical to ask the Armenian government about its views on the issue. As for us, we witnessed a situation where Yerevan announced the resignation of its prime minister. This problem must be settled in accordance with the constitution. This is an extremely clear position that does not leave room for misinterpretation. It is an absolutely clear-cut position.

Question: As reported by Interfax today, in addition to Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian, Acting First Deputy Prime Minister Armen Gevorgyan came to Moscow as well. You said that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a meeting with the Foreign Minister of Armenia. Was Armen Gevorgyan present during the meeting? If not, whom did he meet with?

Maria Zakharova: I have no detailed information about this meeting. I only have the information that I already shared with you. Surprisingly, this meeting led to conclusions which are nothing short of a conspiracy theory. It's very strange. We never hide anything in terms of contacts. But I do not have any details. I can make inquiries and answer you later.

Question: It's just that a source in Interfax said that the internal political situation in Armenia will also be discussed at the meeting in addition to bilateral relations.

Maria Zakharova: Again, I commented on this in the first part. I don't believe we have ever let you down in this sense. I can clarify who was present at the meeting.

Question: Is there any limit to the number of diplomatic personnel in each particular country? For example, today you demonstrated the raider attack by the United States with regard to Russian property. The diplomatic mission in Armenia is one of the largest with over 1,500 diplomats. Are there any limits to that number?

Maria Zakharova: This is a matter of bilateral agreements. Each country agrees with another country about the number of diplomats to be sent to that country. It's a matter of mutual agreement. If there are complications in relations similar to the ones we now have with the United States, there is a form of parity, where one country, seeing unfriendly steps and lack of respect and in order to somehow let the other country know that such an approach is inappropriate, offers parity, so that no one has any advantages. This was the case with us and the United States. They had a clear prevalence in the number of diplomats. They had several times more employees than other embassies. No other country has as many embassy employees as they do. In particular, in the wake of these expulsions and rude behaviour with regard to Russian property, diplomatic sites and diplomats, parity was proposed and the numbers are now even. This is also a conventional arrangement, because we have a Permanent Mission to the United Nations which, by virtue of history, functions on the territory of the United States. It has its own symbolism. Traditionally, the countries agree on the number of diplomats on a bilateral basis. Actually, opening consulates general and the format of an embassy are also the subject of mutual agreements based on the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 and on the 1963 one on consular relations. This is the legal basis, while the details are agreed by the parties.

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