YEREVAN. Dec 7 (Interfax) - Armenia counts on Russia's support in a "sensitive issue" such as the exchange of prisoners and the war dead in the wake of the hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Aivazian said at a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Monday.
"Issues concerning the search for missing servicemen and exchange of prisoners and the war dead are increasingly sensitive and require the soonest possible solution. [...] Such issues also include the preservation of Armenian religious and cultural sites. We hope that Russia, both as a nation and a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, will facilitate both solutions to these issues and a process aimed at peacefully resolving the conflict in general," the Armenian foreign ministry said.
Hopefully, this will prompt the co-chairs (Russia, the United States, and France) of the OSCE Minsk Group mediating a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to step up their work, he said.
Armenia stands ready to give due attention to matters such as the functioning of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, creating conditions for refugees' return, and extending humanitarian aid to the population, Aivazian said.
Aivazian also thanked Russia for its consistent efforts to secure a full ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. He also expressed hope that his visit to Moscow will be productive and "will help further develop interaction between the allies and strengthen security and stability in the South Caucasus."