Lavrov: Armenia a ‘time-tested’ ally of Russia
Armenia is a ‘time-tested’ ally of Russia and the country’s strategic partner, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a joint news conference with his Armenian counterpart Zohrab Mnatsakanyan on the sidelines of his official visit to Yerevan.
Lavrov attached importance to high-level relations with Armenia, stressing Russian president and Armenia’s PM met four times this year alone. He said the talks with the Armenian FM addressed the implementation of the agreements reached during those meetings.
The Russian FM stressed the importance of cooperation with Armenia at all levels. He highlighted that Russia is Armenia's leading economic partner, adding Armenia and Russia also actively cooperate in educational, cultural, regional and humanitarian spheres.
“We cooperate closely on international and regional issues. We discussed key issues on the international agenda and agreed to further coordinate our approaches, including within the UN, OSCE and Council of Europe," Lavrov said.
The Russian official said he had also discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Zohrab Mnatsakanyan.
“We have stressed the importance of stepping up efforts towards the active, constructive negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We underlined the need for further steps to ease tensions in the conflict zone in accordance with the arrangements, including those achieved in April this year during the meeting of the Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers and the three co-chairs. We consider it important to continue implementing the steps agreed on the ground,” he said.
“Russia is also ready to continue to provide the most active mediation assistance both within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group and in the format of Russia-Armenia-Azerbaijan,” he said.