MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd July, 2020) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has held talks with representatives of the country's Armenian and Azerbaijani communities to discuss possible civil-led contribution to normalizing the ongoing interstate strife, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
The meeting involved Ara Abramyan, the head of the Armenian Union of Russia public organization, and businessman God Nisanov, the head of board of the Kievskaya Ploshchad JSC company.
"They discussed the role of the Azerbaijani and Armenian communities in maintaining peace and harmony in the territory of Russia under current law," the ministry said in a press release, adding that it "stressed the importance of a constructive contribution by the Azerbaijani and Armenian communities in creating conditions facilitating the normalization of relations between Baku and Yerevan."
Armed hostilities have been ongoing in the northern segment of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border since July 12, whereas the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, a long disputed territory further south, has remained calm.
Baku has so far reported 12 fatalities among troops, including an army general. Yerevan has reported five fatalities and 10 injured people, including one civilian.
Moscow has earlier proposed to assume mediation in a bid to stabilize the situation in the region.
