Russian Side Prepares Documents to Facilitate Constructive Dialogue: Zakharova

The Russian Federation, which has close ties with both Armenia and Azerbaijan, is paying special attention to the situation at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border as well as in Nagorno-Karabakh, where Russian peacekeeping forces are stationed. Maria Zakharova, a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated this during a press briefing, noting that the Russian peacekeeping forces in NK continue to make significant contributions to maintaining stability in the region, establishing peaceful life, and addressing humanitarian issues, including the return of prisoners of war, refugees, and the exchange of the bodies of casualties.

“We support the building of trust between Baku and Yerevan and continue to work towards ensuring the presence of the CSTO mission, the UN, and UNESCO in the region. Of course, we take with concern any manifestation of tension in certain areas of the border, which negatively affects the regional situation and does not contribute to the resolution of dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia, leading to unjustified losses among the populations of both countries,” Zakharova stated.

The Russian Foreign Ministry representative expressed condolences to the family and relatives of the Armenian serviceman killed due to provocations by the Azerbaijani side near the Yeraskh border area and wished a speedy recovery to those affected by border incidents.

“The resolution of border incidents must occur exclusively through political and diplomatic means. It is strictly necessary to refrain from confrontational rhetoric and the use of forceful methods; systematic painstaking work is required for acceptable mutual compromises,” Zakharova emphasized, stating that the Russian side is providing both the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides with this approach.

“We are convinced that sustainable de-escalation can ensure the immediate start of the demarcation process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, followed by delineation. We are ready to strengthen these efforts with the mapping information at our disposal. The Russian side has prepared a number of documents that could move the dialogue into a constructive channel. Currently, communications on this topic are ongoing between defense ministries and the border services of the three countries,” Zakharova noted.

Addressing the separate meetings of the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zakharova mentioned that issues of the regional situation had been a key topic during the negotiations. She added that despite the challenging and large-scale nature of the existing problems in the region, the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia have confirmed their determination to find optimal solutions and expressed their readiness to consistently implement the statement of November 9, 2020, as well as the agreement of January 11, 2021, which opened the prospect of unblocking transport routes and communications in the South Caucasus.

Zakharova also referred to the activities of the trilateral working group, adding, “We expect that the working group will be able to resume meetings soon. This will allow us to proceed to the phased implementation of joint infrastructure projects that are in the interests of both Armenia and Azerbaijan and the entire South Caucasus.”