“I think, the issue of opening regional communications can be swiftly resolved. Soon we should resume the work of the commission of the deputy prime ministers on unblocking regional communications, be more active from the point of view of implementing new economic and communication capabilities in the region,” he said.
On June 1, Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan told journalists that the tri-lateral commission had suspended operations due to the tense situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
On January 11, during a meeting in Moscow, the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan made a decision to create a working group at the level of the deputy prime ministers of the three countries that would focus on establishing transport and economic links in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Following the end of the military conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh last fall, when seven regions adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh fell under Azerbaijan’s control, the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan moved to the immediate vicinity of the Syunik and Gegharkunik Provinces. The situation there aggravated on May 12, with both sides reporting ongoing provocations. On May 27, Azerbaijan announced that it captured six Armenian servicemen during an attempt to cross the border. The Armenian side confirmed that the servicemen were captured yet emphasized that at the time they were involved in engineering works in the border area of Armenia’s Gegharkunik Province.
In the fall of 2020, the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh escalated with armed clashes occurring on the disputed territory. On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to the document, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides would maintain the positions that they had held, a number of regions would be controlled by Azerbaijan, and Russian peacekeepers would be deployed to the region along the line of engagement and the Lachin corridor.
