Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at Dzidzernagapert on Monday

YEREVAN—Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Armenia on Monday after he held talks in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, where he discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and ways to reach a resolution.

Upon his arrival, Lavrov visited the Dzidzernagapert Memorial Monument and placed a wreath in memory of the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide.

After leaving his talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov, Lavrov said many areas that may lead to a resolution of Karabakh conflict have already been outlined, and no one wants the conflict to continue.

“No one is satisfied with the conflict, and a solution should be sought, all the more so because many areas that are expected to bring results have already been outlined,” Lavrov said, according to the Russian TASS news agency.

“As an OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing country, we will continue looking for mutually acceptable ways of peaceful settlement with regard to the developments that emerged during the recent meeting of the three co-chairs – Russian, American and French – with the Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers in Moscow,” Lavrov added.

“There is an agreed format with three Co-Chairs. They do not just exist in a vacuum, they jointly co-chair the OSCE Minsk Group, which brings together all the more or less interested countries capable of influencing the process,” the Russian Foreign Minister said.

“I have not heard any talks about the expansion of the format. I think that in this and other conflict settlement processes, proposals on something new can be used – intentionally or unintentionally – as way to spoil what is being done in a well-established format acceptable to both parties,” he added referencing rumors that the Minsk Group format would be expanded.

Cooperation between Russia and the US on Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement has not been affected by the current state of relations between the two countries, Lavrov said.

“We share a position with the US and France, and it is well-known,” Lavrov continued. “Co-chairmen, these tree countries, regularly meet at the level of ambassadors and ministers, as well as regularly visit the region.”

The Russian Foreign Minister also expressed hope that the meeting between Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sarkisian held in October would help overcome “some kind of stagnation” in the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.