Russia will host the top Azerbaijani and Armenian diplomats on Friday to discuss the resolution of the decadeslong dispute between the two neighbors.
The meeting follows several rounds of talks led by the European Union and the United States.
Brussels and Washington's increased diplomatic engagement in the Caucasus has irked traditional regional power-broker Russia.
A meeting involving the foreign ministers of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan "will take place in Moscow on May 19," Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters.
Before the trilateral talks the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers, Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhun Bayramov, are expected to discuss a draft peace treaty, she said.
Yerevan has grown increasingly frustrated over what it calls Moscow's failure to protect Armenia in the face of a military threat from Azerbaijan.
With Russia bogged down in Ukraine and unwilling to strain ties with Azerbaijan's key ally Türkiye, the United States and European Union have sought to steer the talks.
On Sunday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met in Brussels for a new round of talks hosted by European Council President Charles Michel.
Another meeting between Pashinian and Aliyev was set for June 1 in Moldova and is expected to involve French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Karabakh, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
Most of the territory was liberated by Baku during a war in the fall of 2020 which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement and opened the door to normalization.
However, the establishment of a checkpoint on the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the South Caucasus region last month sparked tensions.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said the border checkpoint was created in response to security threats from Armenia, citing the transfer of weapons and ammunition to the Karabakh region. Yerevan denied the charges.
Washington said previously that it was "deeply concerned" by Azerbaijan establishing a checkpoint on the Lachin corridor.
Although Russia brokered the last significant deal between the two sides and now maintains troops in Karabakh, it has been more recently preoccupied with the conflict in Ukraine.
Source Daily Sabah
BDST: 1014 HRS, MAY 18, 2023
MSK
