Russia genuinely wishes Armenia and Azerbaijan success in signing a peace agreement and is ready to facilitate the drafting and conclusion of such a treaty, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on May 23 at a high-level conference dedicated to historic southern Russian territories, according to TASS.

“A peace treaty must be signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We sincerely wish them success in this matter. It is evident that this treaty emerged from several Russia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral summits. We are ready to continue offering support, provided both sides are interested,” Lavrov stated.

He also addressed Armenia’s Crossroads of Peace initiative, stressing that its realization depends on signing the peace treaty with Azerbaijan and normalizing relations with Turkey.

“The Armenian side is promoting the 'Crossroads of Peace' initiative, aiming to integrate its territory and logistics into broader continental processes. We support the development of all infrastructure projects.

However, for the Crossroads of Peace to materialize, a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan must be signed, and Armenian-Turkish relations normalized,” Lavrov added.

On March 13, Armenia and Azerbaijan finalized the text of the peace treaty. The last two agreed points concerned non-deployment of third-country forces along their shared border and mutual withdrawal of lawsuits from international courts.