The Russian Foreign Ministry said the two men discussed “topical issues of bilateral, regional and global agenda” as well as “the schedule and content of upcoming interstate contacts.” It also cited Lavrov as praising progress made in Armenian-Azerbaijani talks on a bilateral peace treaty.
According to the Armenian readout of the call, Lavrov and Mirzoyan stressed the “importance of political dialogue between the two countries at various levels.” They also reviewed the results of the first Russian-Armenian diplomatic “consultations” in four years held by their deputies in Moscow late last week.
Mirzoyan also phoned Lavrov on Friday to congratulate him on his 75th birthday anniversary. They “touched upon upcoming engagements in our bilateral political dialogue,” the top Armenian diplomat said in an X post.
The two ministers most recently met in Moscow in January. It was their first face-to-face encounter since November 2023.
Armenia had minimized diplomatic contacts with Russia since 2022 amid a deepening rift between the two longtime allies and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s efforts to reorient his country towards the West. In recent weeks, there have been indications that Pashinian now wants to mend fences with Moscow.
In a March 14 phone call, the Armenian premier told Russian President Vladimir Putin that he will attend on May 9 a military parade in Moscow dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. At least two Armenian media outlets reported around the same time that Pashinian instructed Armenia’s parliament, Foreign Ministry and other government agencies to unfreeze and intensify contacts with their Russian counterparts. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reacted positively to those reports on Friday.
“We are more than satisfied with such reciprocal attitude of the Armenian side to the prospects of our bilateral relations and are ready to develop them in every way,” Peskov told journalists.