MOSCOW

Russian and Armenian foreign ministers discussed on Monday the progress in Yerevan's settlement with its neighbor Azerbaijan, as well as bilateral ties.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Minister Sergey Lavrov highly assessed the progress achieved in reconciliation between the two Caucasian nations in a phone talk with his Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyan.

"The foreign ministers discussed topical issues on the bilateral, regional and global agenda. The progress was marked in finalizing the text of the peace treaty between Yerevan and Baku, which was highly assessed in Moscow," it said.

The ministers also discussed the schedule of the upcoming contacts at different levels, it said.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Karabakh – a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan – and seven adjacent regions.

Most of the territory was liberated by Azerbaijan during a 44-day war in the fall of 2020, which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement that opened the door to normalization and demarcation talks.

In September 2023, Azerbaijan established full sovereignty in Karabakh after separatist forces in the region surrendered.