YEREVAN, JULY 18, ARMENPRESS. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko has met the Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbuloghlu to discuss the situation in South Caucasus, as well as the reconciliation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

“The Russian side reaffirmed the need for the complete and immediate unblocking of Lachin Corridor and restoration of transport connection in two directions, in accordance with the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement, as well as the need for creating conditions for the normal livelihood of Nagorno Karabakh,” reads the statement.

The parties also discussed the Azerbaijani strong reaction to a recent statement by the Russian foreign ministry. Azerbaijan criticized Russia for what it described as associating the Azeri territorial integrity with the statements made by the Armenian Prime Minister on recognizing the Azerbaijani territorial integrity, which, according to Baku, contradicts the Moscow-Baku partnership agreement.

“Regarding the inappropriate comments by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement on July 15, it was emphasized that the Russian Federation has always respected the territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan and is fully committed to the spirit and letter of the bilateral statement on allied cooperation. At the same time, this doesn’t eliminate the issue of comprehensively promoting the Armenian-Azerbaijan normalization process and resolving all issues on the agenda, including the issues of ensuring the rights and security of the population of Nagorno Karabakh, with exclusively peaceful political-diplomatic methods,” the Russian foreign ministry said.

Moscow also expressed readiness to organize a trilateral foreign ministerial meeting to discuss the implementation of high-level agreements, the draft peace treaty, which will then be followed by “a summit of the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan for signing the abovementioned document.”