Baku, Azerbaijan, May 24
Trend:
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov will pay an official visit to Moscow on May 24-26, the Russian foreign ministry said May 23, RIA Novosti reported.
Azerbaijani and Russian foreign ministers will hold talks May 25.
"We regard the upcoming visit in the context of the continued development of the Russian-Azerbaijani political dialogue,” the statement said. “The foreign ministers will discuss the state and prospects of bilateral cooperation, the key aspects of the regional and international agenda, including the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, May 25."
"Russia, as a co-chairing country of the OSCE Minsk Group, continues to play an active role in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement for over two decades,” the statement said.
The Russian foreign ministry also said that Azerbaijan is an important strategic partner of Russia in South Caucasus and the Caspian region.
"We establish the relations with Azerbaijan on the basis of equality and respect for each other's interests," the statement says.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
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