UN Chief Hails Russia’s Role in Armenia-Azerbaijan Contacts: Spokesperson

"The Secretary-General welcomes the 26 November trilateral meeting between the Prime Minister of Armenia (Nikol Pashinyan), the President of Azerbaijan (Ilham Aliyev), and the President of the Russian Federation (Vladimir Putin), and takes note of their joint statement. He notes with appreciation the role of the Russian Federation in facilitating continuing contacts and dialogue," Haq said in a statement, TASS reported.

According to the spokesperson, Guterres "is encouraged by the resumption of direct engagement at the highest level between Armenia and Azerbaijan and their recommitment to fully implement the trilateral statements of 9 November 2020 and 11 January 2021 and to take concrete steps aimed at increasing stability in the region."

"He reiterates the UN’s principled position that·a lasting peace can only be achieved through dialogue and urges the parties to resolve outstanding issues to that end through all available formats, including under the auspices of the OSCE’s Minsk Group Co-Chairs (Russia, the United States and France)," he said.

"The United Nations stands ready to support all such efforts, including through the provision of humanitarian, recovery and peacebuilding assistance on the ground," Haq added.

On Friday, Putin, Aliyev and Pashinyan held trilateral talks in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, which lasted nearly three hours and yielded a joint statement. In addition, the Russian president held bilateral meetings with the Azerbaijani president and also with the Armenian prime minister.