Meeting with Lavrov on Thursday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev complained that Armenia has still not open road and railway links connecting Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave. He said Moscow should press Yerevan to do that in line with the ceasefire agreement that stopped the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Aliyev also claimed that Yerevan has still not reacted to his proposals regarding an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty sought by Baku.
In March this year, Azerbaijan presented Armenia with five elements which it wants to be at the heart of the treaty. They include a mutual recognition of each other’s territorial integrity. The Armenian government said they should be complemented by other issues relating to the future of status of Karabakh and the security of its population.
In written comments to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan pointed to those counterproposals and said Baku has still not officially responded to them.
“We see nothing unacceptable in Azerbaijan’s proposals regarding the future peace treaty while complementing those proposals with our ideas,” he said.
Mirzoyan also insisted that the Armenian side is interested in transport links between the two South Caucasus states. He said their opening has been hampered by “baseless” Azerbaijani demands for an exterritorial corridor for Nakhichevan.
Mirzoyan also said that Azerbaijan still holds dozens of Armenian prisoners in breach of the 2020 ceasefire.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov echoed Aliyev’s claims after holding talks with Lavrov on Friday.
“The artificial dragging of the negotiating process carries very serious risks,” Bayramov warned at a joint news conference.
Lavrov said, for his part, that Russia will continue to help the two sides negotiate a comprehensive peace accord, demarcate the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and open it to travel and commerce.
Visiting Yerevan earlier this month, Lavrov said the Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russian governments are now finalizing a deal on a “simplified” border control regime for the planned road to Nakhichevan. The road will be under Armenian control, he said.