Azerbaijan, Baku, March 27 / Trend E.Tariverdiyeva /
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will meet with Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, Prime Minister Artur Rasizade and Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov during his visit to Azerbaijan, Russia 24 quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevic as saying on Tuesday.
Lukashevich said the minister's visit is timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties between Azerbaijan and Russia.
"For 20 years, a high level of cooperation aimed at strengthening relations in the spirit of good neighborliness and friendship between our peoples was achieved," he said. He noted that the visit is considered a continuation of the dialogue to strengthen ties between Azerbaijan and Russia.
Last year, the trade turnover between the countries exceeded $2.5 billion.
"During meetings with Mammadyarov, a wide range of bilateral relations and regional issues will be discussed and the Nagorno-Karabakh problem will be intensively addressed," Lukashevich said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France and the U.S. - are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.