<strong>Russian prime minister calls Armenian, Azerbaijani counterparts</strong>

By Mark Dovich

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin made separate phone calls to his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts on Wednesday, the Russian government announced. Notably, read-outs of the calls did not make any mention of the Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization process.

Mishustin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan “discussed key issues in Russian-Armenian cooperation in the trade and economic sphere and the implementation of joint projects in various fields.”

Meanwhile, Mishustin and Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov “examined relevant issues in developing Russian-Azerbaijani trade and economic cooperation, including the implementation of joint projects in the fields of industry, energy, agriculture, and transport infrastructure.”

Last week, Ivan Nechaev, a spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, said Russia was planning to organize high-level talks between Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Russian officials by the end of the month.

Russia brokered the ceasefire agreement that ended large-scale hostilities in and around Karabakh in late 2020 and deployed peacekeepers to the region. Moscow maintains warm relations with both Yerevan and Baku.