Azeri, Russian foreign ministers discuss Karabakh

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has discussed the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh (Nagornyy Karabakh) conflict with his Russian counterpart, the Azeri APA news agency reported on 24 January.


Mammadyarov met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during his working visit to Moscow.


"The ways to resolve the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagonro-Karabakh conflict have been discussed in the meeting. They spoke broadly about the issues raised during the Vienna and St. Petersburg meetings of [Azerbaijani and Armenian] the presidents", APA said, noting that Russia initiated the meeting.


Mammadyarov stressed the need to change the conflict's status quo, the report said.


On 17 January, a journalist from a private, Azeri pro-government TV channel asked Lavrov what Russia would do if Baku starts a "counterterrorist operation" to retake its territories - would it turn a blind eye or intervene in Azerbaijan's internal affairs?


Lavrov responded that "this is not something abstract or an issue that is solely Azerbaijan's internal affair".


A few days later, several media outlets in Azerbaijan reported that the journalist had been sacked as Lavrov's remarks sparked an outcry in Azerbaijani press and among social media users.


Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, which, along with seven surrounding districts, came under the control of Armenian troops in the early 1990s. The OSCE Minsk Group mediates the peace process between the two countries. The United States, France and Russia are the co-chairs of the Minsk Group.



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