The normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan has contributed to the improvement of the situation in the South Caucasus, according to the secretary of the Russian Security Council, Sergey Shoigu.

"The situation in the South Caucasus has a tendency to improve. The normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations and the actual establishment of peace in the region are yielding their results," Shoigu said at the 14th annual meeting of the Security Council Secretaries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member countries, in Moscow.

Thus, as per Shoigu, "the unblocking of [regional] transport communications, on which agreements were reached still within the framework of the working group, is of great importance."

At the same time, all logistics projects must be economically justified and provide cost coverage, he added.

"I would like to emphasize that regional issues must be resolved through political and diplomatic means, without the intervention of foreign countries," noted the secretary of the Russian Security Council.