The discussions will be held within Alfano’s visit to Moscow. At the forthcoming talks, the parties will also discuss this year’s plan for cooperation within the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), chaired by Italy.
Lavrov and Alfano will also consider the possibility of boosting the OSCE activity in the fight against terrorism, drug trafficking and cyberthreats, protection of traditional values and the rights of national minorities, and counteracting Christianophobia and Islamophobia.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
