Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thurday he had met Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the sidelines of the European Political Community Summit in Spain, and discussed the security situation in the South Caucasus.

“Ukraine is interested in the region’s stability and friendly relations with its nations,” Zelenskiy said on X, formerly known as Twitter, adding that bilateral cooperation and regional economic projects had also been discussed.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said later on Thursday that Zelenskiy had also held phone discussions with Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliev, a day earlier.

Azerbaijan seized control of the Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh last month. Since then, more than 100,000 people – most of Karabakh’s population – have fled and sought refuge in Armenia, a country of 2.8 million.

“I think everyone understands that tectonic shifts are taking place in the South Caucasus. Everyone has to understand that Ukraine has vital and economic interests in this region,” Kuleba said in televised comments.

“We need Russia to have no influence, we need stability, we need the opportunity to develop trade relations. That is why the president so sharply intensified diplomacy with Azerbaijan and Armenia.”