ArmInfo. The agenda of the visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Armenia includes, among other issues on the bilateral agenda, the continuation of discussions on the resumption of the peace negotiation process on Nagorno-Karabakh. This was announced on May 5 from the rostrum of parliament during the government hour by acting Foreign Minister of Armenia Ara Aivazian, adding that the Russian minister's plane will land at Yerevan airport in the next few hours.
Speaking about the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, Aivazian recalled that in the post-war period the mediators made statements twice - on December 3, 2020 and April 13 this year. He once again reminded that the assessments of the Armenian side regarding the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group are known, and they were presented by Yerevan on December 3 at the OSCE Ministerial Council. Aivazian added that the road map of Armenia consists of 5 well-known points.
In this context, the RA acting Foreign Minister stated that the essence of these approaches was more clearly formulated in an interview by US Ambassador Lynne Tracy, who stressed that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has not been resolved, the negotiation process should be resumed and the issue of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh should be a priority.
At the same time, Aivazian noted that more and more partners of Armenia are making statements in which they clearly point to the unsettledness of the Karabakh conflict and the need to resolve the existing problems.
Speaking about the role of mediators, the minister recalled that the goal of the OSCE Minsk Group is to create an appropriate favorable environment for the parties to find a solution to the conflict. "It seems that the OSCE Minsk Group is showing signs of life, and Armenia hopes that there will be strong mediation, which will not observe the process from outside, but will lead the negotiations," Aivazian said.
Touching upon the issue of Armenian prisoners of war and captives, the minister stressed that this issue is in the center of attention of the Foreign Ministry. "And it should be noted with satisfaction that thanks to the efforts of the Russian side, 70 prisoners of war and civilians have already been released and returned home. This issue is in the focus of attention of the international community and Minsk mediators. International pressure on Azerbaijan is growing day by day," Aivazian concluded.