MOSCOW, March 20. /TASS/. Trilateral statements by the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan undoubtedly remain the key to stabilizing the situation in the region in various areas, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said while opening talks with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in Moscow on Monday.
"We have no doubts that the tripartite statements by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia remain the key to the implementation of all decisions in the interests of stabilization [in the region] in the economic sphere, in the military-political sphere, and in international law," Lavrov pointed out.
He stressed that "one of the priority tasks" was to resolve the dispute over the Lachin road and Karabakh in general. Russia will be ready, as the relevant tripartite statements say, "to render all possible assistance in unblocking transport links, delimiting the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and harmonizing the parameters of a future peace treaty".
Lavrov pointed to the "ongoing intensive political dialogue" between the leaders of the two countries, including that within the framework of peacekeeping activities within the EAEU, the CSTO, and the CIS.
"In May this year, a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council will be held in Moscow. At the moment, we are Armenia’s leading trading partner and a key investor into its economy," Lavrov said.
He stressed that last year’s results were quite impressive. Bilateral trade almost doubled, reaching almost $5 billion.
"We are still calculating it in dollars, but this is temporary. All this helped your country ensure a record growth in its gross domestic product of more than 3.5%," Lavrov said. "Our companies are also leaders in terms of contributions to Armenia’s budget and in creating jobs. The intergovernmental commission at the level of deputy prime ministers is very active."
Moscow is interested both in strengthening the common educational space with Yerevan and in promoting humanitarian ties and relations between regions, Lavrov said. He also noted that among the important topics of today's talks with his Armenian counterpart would be cooperation within the CIS, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and other organizations.