Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the Nagorno-Karabkah conflict Wednesday with his Lithuanian counterpart Audronius Ažubalis, whose country holds the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Russian Itar-Tass news agency reported.

Official reports from Moscow indicate that four people with Armenian last names were among the injured in Monday’s deadly blast at the Domodedovo airport.

Russian and Turkish foreign ministers signed a strategic cooperation protocol in a bid to enhance their bilateral relations Thursday ahead of a scheduled meeting Friday of a six-state meeting to discuss Iran’s nuclear issue.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have described their country’s relations with both Armenia and Azerbaijan as a “strategic partnership” and called for the further expansion of Moscow’s ties with both countries.

The lower house of Russia’s parliament on Wednesday ratified an agreement formalizing the creation of a rapid reaction force for the Collective Security Treaty Organization, bringing the Russian-led alliance closer to a more NATO-like structure.

In addressing the OSCE summit Thursday in the capital of Kazkhstan, President Serzh Sarkisian said in the event that Azerbaijan resorts to military aggression, Armenia will formally recognize the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic as an independent state.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts, Elmar Mamedyarov and Edward Nalbandian, in Moscow on Tuesday for talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The Georgian government has said it does not plan to sell a strategic pipeline that brings Russian natural gas to Armenia through its territory, News.am reported Wednesday.

Gas reserved for Russia’s planned South Stream pipeline makes the European-backed Nabucco project redundant and unnecessary, a Russian energy minister said.

The Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin believes that the NATO-led coalition forces are not doing enough to effectively combat drug production in Afghanistan. As he addressed a meeting of the UN Security Council, Churkin urged NATO to respond to a proposal from the Collective Security Treaty Organization to join forces in addressing the drug threat coming from Afghanistan.

Dmitry Medvedev fired Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov after 18 years in office, opening the way for the Russian president to put his own person in charge of the capital as the country prepares for national elections next year.

Four Armenians were reportedly among at least 16 people killed in a powerful explosion that ripped through a busy market in Russia’s North Caucasus republic of South Ossetia on Thursday.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for a speedy settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on Friday during a working visit to Azerbaijan. “We are interested in peace and order here,” Medvedev said while meeting his Azeri counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, in Baku. “Russia is ready to fulfill her obligations as a member of the Minsk group and as a neighbor,” the Russian leader added.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Azerbaijan on Thursday for a two-day visit to focus on economic ties, cooperation in the Caspian Region, and the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the Russian RIA Novosti news agency reported.