Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov to pay working visit to Baku
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will today begin a two-day trip to Azerbaijan in Baku.
Russian and Azerbaijani officials will give top priority to implementing the November 9th ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Officials will also discuss the rising number of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Lavrov is expected to use today’s discussions to entrench Russia’s military presence in Nagorno-Karabakh. Therefore, Lavrov will likely attempt to secure further guarantees that Azerbaijan will maintain the November ceasefire, as he looks to prevent further hostilities in the South Caucasus region and maintain Russia’s role as an arbiter for the area.
Expect Moscow to cite ceasefire violations to justify both the recent increase in Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh and the maintenance of Russian peacekeepers in the area after the expiration of their mandate in 2025. In exchange, Russian representatives will discuss the implementation of Zangezur Corridor with their Azerbaijani counterparts. If implemented, the corridor will connect the country’s western region with its exclave Nakhichevan. Provided that the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) will exert power over transport through the Zangezur corridor, Baku will profit economically, though less geopolitically, in the medium-term.
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