Azerbaijan installed a concrete barrier on the Lachin Corridor on June 22

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Moscow Polad Bulbuloglu on Monday to discuss what the ministry called “the situation in South Caucasus, as well as the reconciliation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”

“The Russian side reaffirmed the need for the complete and immediate unblocking of Lachin Corridor and restoration of transport connection in two directions, in accordance with the November 9, 2020 trilateral statement, as well as the need for creating conditions for the normal livelihood of Nagorno Karabakh,” read a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The parties also discussed Azerbaijan’s strong reaction to a recent statement by the Russian foreign ministry. Azerbaijan criticized Russia for what it described as associating its territorial integrity with the statements made by the Armenian Prime Minister on recognizing the Azerbaijani territorial integrity, which, according to Baku, contradicts the Moscow-Baku partnership agreement.

The Azerbaijani foreign ministry hit back at Moscow on Monday and refused to lift the now seven-month-old blockade of the Lachin Corridor.

“Regarding the inappropriate comments by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement on July 15, it was emphasized that the Russian Federation has always respected the territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan and is fully committed to the spirit and letter of the bilateral statement on allied cooperation. At the same time, this doesn’t eliminate the issue of comprehensively promoting the Armenian-Azerbaijan normalization process and resolving all issues on the agenda, including the issues of ensuring the rights and security of the population of Nagorno Karabakh, with exclusively peaceful political-diplomatic methods,” the Russian foreign ministry said.

Moscow also expressed readiness to organize a trilateral foreign ministerial meeting to discuss the implementation of high-level agreements, the draft peace treaty, which will then be followed by “a summit of the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan for signing the aforementioned document.”