Responsibility for the Current Situation Should Not Fall Solely on Russia: Russian Senator

Russia is doing everything in its power to contribute to the resolution of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, but it is naive to think that it will solve all issues immediately. This was stated by Russian Senator Andrey Klimov, a member of the Federation Council's Foreign Affairs Committee, during a video bridge organized by Sputnik Armenia.

“I would not want the responsibility for the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh to rest solely on Russia. This approach hinders logical reasoning and the making of sound decisions. The current situation in Nagorno-Karabakh did not arise overnight, and Russia's responsibility cannot be compared to that of the other parties in the conflict zone,” the senator said.

According to him, Moscow is least interested in war near its own borders, and it was Russia that took unprecedented measures in terms of speed and efficiency last year to send peacekeepers to the conflict zone. He emphasized that the absence of war there today is 99.9% due to Moscow's efforts.

When asked about the presence of Russian citizens who lived in Nagorno-Karabakh during and after the conflict, Klimov stated that there are no specific statistics. However, he knows that around 1,500 people, who consider themselves Russians, reside in Nagorno-Karabakh. Their number was higher before the conflict.

“Let’s hand on heart say that today in Armenia or Azerbaijan, no one knows who, where, and in what numbers are there. But that’s not important. What matters is that peace is real and that the agreements are fulfilled in their entirety,” believes the Russian politician.

Klimov points out that there are complaints regarding these agreements; however, it is necessary to address post-conflict issues, including the matters concerning both the detained individuals and the problems related to mined areas.

Regarding the presence of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh, the political figure stated that the troops will remain there as long as necessary. Klimov assured that Russia is objectively interested in maintaining peace along its borders.