07:53A minor technical difficulty gave Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was speaking at the annual press conference on Russian diplomatic activities in 2023 in Moscow on Thursday, cause to exercise his sense of humour.
A Chinese journalist was having trouble finding the 'on' switch for his microphone.
"You have a microphone in your armrest, press the button," urged Maria Zakharova, foreign ministry spokesperson.
"It's not working?" asked Lavrov, and immediately inserted a geopolitical joke to lighten up the mood, "Maybe it's Japanese?"
He went on to praise the nature of the Russian-Chinese relations, saying they set 'an example of solving any issues for any other communicating parties in the world'.
"Of course, there are issues that need to be resolved, there are economic and trade issues, with each party wanting to bargain for more favourable conditions, but the interests of Russia and China have always turned out to be congruent at the end of the negotiations," said the minister.
Commenting on the recent dispute and exchange of statements between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the status of the Zangezur corridor, Lavrov remarked that, even though he wasn't informed of the reasons for the failed negotiations on opening traffic between Azerbaijan and the Nakhichevan region, he couldn't rule out subversion by the West, which seeks to 'promote their own geopolitical agenda' rather than find solutions for regional issues 'based on a balance of interests'.
The Russian top diplomat also claimed that the EU and the United States were interfering in the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which had already been agreed upon following Russian-mediated talks.
"I have every reason to say that the West is unwilling to let those agreements that have been concluded between Yerevan and Baku with Russia's mediation to be implemented. <…> These do not satisfy the EU and the United States, who also wish to participate in delimitation, too, from overseas. They somehow came into possession of, as they put it, the maps made by the USSR General Staff. So, they are saying: you don't need the Russians, because we have the maps," he said, "It is a well-known fact that the West openly calls for removing Russia from Transcaucasia."
The Zangezur corridor is a transport project proposed by Azerbaijan to establish a 43-km passage through Armenian territory to its Nakhichevan exclave. The peace agreement signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan on November 9, 2020, provided for the corridor's creation. The sides also agreed that the FSB of Russia would be monitoring the passage of people, vehicles and goods through the corridor.
In January, Azerbaijani officials publicly declared that Baku was expecting all cargo passing through the Zangezur corridor to be exempt from customs and border control. In turn, Armenia stated that, while Yerevan was willing to discuss simplified customs procedures, it would never allow full exterritoriality.
On November 9, 2020, following 44 days of armed conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a trilateral ceasefire declaration, with Moscow deploying peacekeepers.
The long-running conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh reignited in September 2023, when Azerbaijan retook control of the breakaway territory, following what Baku called a 'counter-terrorist operation' in the region.
'Maybe it's Japanese' - Lavrov jokes about faulty tech during annual news briefing
A minor technical difficulty gave Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was speaking at the annual press conference on Russian diplomatic activities in 2023 in Moscow on Thursday, cause to exercise his sense of humour.
A Chinese journalist was having trouble finding the 'on' switch for his microphone.
"You have a microphone in your armrest, press the button," urged Maria Zakharova, foreign ministry spokesperson.
"It's not working?" asked Lavrov, and immediately inserted a geopolitical joke to lighten up the mood, "Maybe it's Japanese?"
He went on to praise the nature of the Russian-Chinese relations, saying they set 'an example of solving any issues for any other communicating parties in the world'.
"Of course, there are issues that need to be resolved, there are economic and trade issues, with each party wanting to bargain for more favourable conditions, but the interests of Russia and China have always turned out to be congruent at the end of the negotiations," said the minister.
Commenting on the recent dispute and exchange of statements between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the status of the Zangezur corridor, Lavrov remarked that, even though he wasn't informed of the reasons for the failed negotiations on opening traffic between Azerbaijan and the Nakhichevan region, he couldn't rule out subversion by the West, which seeks to 'promote their own geopolitical agenda' rather than find solutions for regional issues 'based on a balance of interests'.
The Russian top diplomat also claimed that the EU and the United States were interfering in the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which had already been agreed upon following Russian-mediated talks.
"I have every reason to say that the West is unwilling to let those agreements that have been concluded between Yerevan and Baku with Russia's mediation to be implemented. <…> These do not satisfy the EU and the United States, who also wish to participate in delimitation, too, from overseas. They somehow came into possession of, as they put it, the maps made by the USSR General Staff. So, they are saying: you don't need the Russians, because we have the maps," he said, "It is a well-known fact that the West openly calls for removing Russia from Transcaucasia."
The Zangezur corridor is a transport project proposed by Azerbaijan to establish a 43-km passage through Armenian territory to its Nakhichevan exclave. The peace agreement signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan on November 9, 2020, provided for the corridor's creation. The sides also agreed that the FSB of Russia would be monitoring the passage of people, vehicles and goods through the corridor.
In January, Azerbaijani officials publicly declared that Baku was expecting all cargo passing through the Zangezur corridor to be exempt from customs and border control. In turn, Armenia stated that, while Yerevan was willing to discuss simplified customs procedures, it would never allow full exterritoriality.
On November 9, 2020, following 44 days of armed conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a trilateral ceasefire declaration, with Moscow deploying peacekeepers.
The long-running conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh reignited in September 2023, when Azerbaijan retook control of the breakaway territory, following what Baku called a 'counter-terrorist operation' in the region.
A minor technical difficulty gave Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was speaking at the annual press conference on Russian diplomatic activities in 2023 in Moscow on Thursday, cause to exercise his sense of humour.
A Chinese journalist was having trouble finding the 'on' switch for his microphone.
"You have a microphone in your armrest, press the button," urged Maria Zakharova, foreign ministry spokesperson.
"It's not working?" asked Lavrov, and immediately inserted a geopolitical joke to lighten up the mood, "Maybe it's Japanese?"
He went on to praise the nature of the Russian-Chinese relations, saying they set 'an example of solving any issues for any other communicating parties in the world'.
"Of course, there are issues that need to be resolved, there are economic and trade issues, with each party wanting to bargain for more favourable conditions, but the interests of Russia and China have always turned out to be congruent at the end of the negotiations," said the minister.
Commenting on the recent dispute and exchange of statements between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the status of the Zangezur corridor, Lavrov remarked that, even though he wasn't informed of the reasons for the failed negotiations on opening traffic between Azerbaijan and the Nakhichevan region, he couldn't rule out subversion by the West, which seeks to 'promote their own geopolitical agenda' rather than find solutions for regional issues 'based on a balance of interests'.
The Russian top diplomat also claimed that the EU and the United States were interfering in the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which had already been agreed upon following Russian-mediated talks.
"I have every reason to say that the West is unwilling to let those agreements that have been concluded between Yerevan and Baku with Russia's mediation to be implemented. <…> These do not satisfy the EU and the United States, who also wish to participate in delimitation, too, from overseas. They somehow came into possession of, as they put it, the maps made by the USSR General Staff. So, they are saying: you don't need the Russians, because we have the maps," he said, "It is a well-known fact that the West openly calls for removing Russia from Transcaucasia."
The Zangezur corridor is a transport project proposed by Azerbaijan to establish a 43-km passage through Armenian territory to its Nakhichevan exclave. The peace agreement signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan on November 9, 2020, provided for the corridor's creation. The sides also agreed that the FSB of Russia would be monitoring the passage of people, vehicles and goods through the corridor.
In January, Azerbaijani officials publicly declared that Baku was expecting all cargo passing through the Zangezur corridor to be exempt from customs and border control. In turn, Armenia stated that, while Yerevan was willing to discuss simplified customs procedures, it would never allow full exterritoriality.
On November 9, 2020, following 44 days of armed conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a trilateral ceasefire declaration, with Moscow deploying peacekeepers.
The long-running conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh reignited in September 2023, when Azerbaijan retook control of the breakaway territory, following what Baku called a 'counter-terrorist operation' in the region.