On April 15, Moscow hosted a working meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, convened at the Russian initiative. The meeting was attended by Sergey Lavrov, Elmar Mammadyarov and Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, who were joined by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov from Russia, Andrew Shaffer from the United States, Stéphane Visconti from France) and Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Nagorno-Karabakh Andrzej Kasprzyk.

Following on the agreements reached by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan at a summit in Vienna on March 29, 2019, the participants at the meeting discussed the situation on the border and the line of contact, as well as prospects for organising humanitarian interaction. The parties held a detailed exchange of views on the key aspects of a settlement.

The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia confirmed the parties’ intention to continue the efforts aimed at settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by political and diplomatic means. They pointed out that the parties were interested in further stabilisation in the conflict zone, particularly during the agricultural work. They also agreed to take reciprocal measures allowing relatives to visit persons kept in custody in the parties’ respective territories. The ministers expressed readiness to start practical work making it possible to establish contacts between people, including reciprocal visits by media representatives.

The Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation and the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group reiterated their commitment to a mediating mission aimed at achieving stable peace in the region. Those at the meeting agreed to continue contacts in the near future.