Maria Zakharova: Russia welcomes Baku-Yerevan direct dialogue

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, answering a question from a Vestnik Kavkaza correspondent during the briefing, welcomed the holding of negotiations between the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Almaty.

The meeting was held on May 10-11 in the largest city of Kazakhstan to continue work on the draft peace treaty based on five key principles proposed by Azerbaijan in 2022.

“We welcome the talks between the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia on a peace treaty in Almaty on May 10-11. This is another step towards achieving sustainable peace and prosperity in the South Caucasus,” Maria Zakharova said.

She also welcomed the decision of Kazakhstan to provide its platform for direct dialogue between the Azerbaijani and Armenian authorities.

“We support Kazakhstan’s efforts in this direction, and if necessary, we are ready to provide all possible assistance to our partners,” the spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry noted.

The diplomat added that work in a bilateral format is based on the 2020-2021 agreements reached through the mediation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“It is important that the contacts in Almaty are in line with the set of trilateral agreements between the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, which determined the roadmap for the process of Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization,” Maria Zakharova concluded.