(Read the full article on TASS.RU)

Azerbaijan and Armenia need to significantly moderate their rhetoric towards each other in the interests of a final peace settlement. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated this on Tuesday at a press conference following talks with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.

“Of course, it is necessary to seriously, substantially moderate the rhetoric on both sides. This will create conditions for a final, full-fledged settlement, I have no doubt about that,” he stressed.

The Russian Foreign Minister drew attention to the importance of the work of the trilateral working group on Karabakh for restoring trust between the parties. “Now I proceed from the fact that we are not talking about the resumption of the process, we are talking about the implementation of what has already been signed, and above all about the need to ensure reliable security and, of course, start restoring trust. the level of deputy prime ministers on unblocking transport communications and economic ties. This will be a very important measure that will allow the parties to take a more constructive attitude to what is happening, “the minister said.

He also added that Moscow considers it fundamentally important to encourage humanitarian ties between Armenia and Azerbaijan at all levels. The question of whether any meeting is planned between the parties, Lavrov proposed to redirect Baku and Yerevan.

Lavrov noted that Moscow and Yerevan agreed not to relax their attention to efforts to eliminate mutual irritants in relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Lavrov said that at the talks with their Armenian counterpart, they discussed in detail the implementation of the trilateral agreements of the leaders of the Russian Federation, Armenia and Azerbaijan dated November 9, 2020, which made it possible to stop the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. “We agreed not to weaken attention to efforts to eliminate mutual irritants in relations between Yerevan and Baku, including the final decision on the release of Armenian prisoners, including the transfer of minefield maps, and confirmed the relevance of further activities of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs,” the minister said.

Release of prisoners of war

Russia calls on the Azerbaijani side to release all Armenian prisoners of war without any conditions, Lavrov said. “We are sending this signal [to exchange everyone for everyone] to our Azerbaijani colleagues, we urge them to release everyone without any conditions,” the head of the diplomatic department said.

According to the minister, such actions of the Azerbaijani side “would become a symbolic measure of the very trust that is now lacking.” “And of course, this would be an important humanitarian step,” he added. “Therefore, we will continue to speak from these positions, but, of course, the final decision does not depend on us.”