Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stated that many issues in the text of the peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, brokered by the United States, remain unresolved.
According to Lavrov, the optimistic statements made following the initialing of the agreement in Washington were later replaced with skepticism once the document was published.
“They decided to sign this agreement on U.S. soil. That is a sovereign right of our neighbors. However, we need to see how this agreement will function. Because the praises voiced in the few days after the Washington meeting were replaced by skeptical assessments once the text was published, revealing that many issues are still unresolved,” Lavrov said.
The Russian foreign minister believes that such initiatives are often aimed at “creating a bright image in foreign policy and promoting it in the information space.”
“I believe this method has the right to exist, but if it is not followed by real steps, it will remain just a glittering display. Meanwhile, we are genuinely interested in the signing of a real peace agreement,” Lavrov added.
The minister noted that the agreement reached between Baku and Yerevan in the U.S. actually stems from the documents signed by the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia between 2020 and 2022:
“After the Second Karabakh War began, it was President Putin of Russia who played a decisive role. He achieved the agreement signed in November 2020 by Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Aliyev. Subsequently, several trilateral summits were held, where agreements were reached on reopening economic ties and restoring transportation routes.”
The First Karabakh War between Azerbaijan and Armenia began in 1987–1988. In the early 1990s, Armenia occupied Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region along with seven surrounding districts.
In 2020, during the 44-day war, and in a one-day military operation in 2023, Baku restored full sovereignty over its territories.
In recent years, peace negotiations between the two countries have been held in various formats.
On August 8, 2025, a trilateral meeting was held in Washington with the participation of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and U.S. President Donald Trump.
As a result of the meeting, the parties signed a joint declaration on the establishment of peace. Although the declaration expressed the commitment of Baku and Yerevan to peace, the details of the agreement were not clearly outlined.
The document states that the parties have initialed the previously agreed text of the peace agreement and will work toward its final ratification. Additionally, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a joint appeal for the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group.
The text of the peace agreement, which is expected to end a conflict lasting over 30 years, was already agreed upon in the spring. However, Baku insisted on fulfilling certain conditions before signing the agreement. In particular, Azerbaijan demanded constitutional amendments in Armenia that would exclude any territorial claims against Baku.
While Yerevan denies the existence of such claims, the Armenian government under Pashinyan has stated that it is planning a new “regionally oriented” constitution.
