Armenia Continues to Believe that Russian Peacekeeping Mission Can Restore the Status Quo: Ararat Mirzoyan

Armenia continues to believe that the Russian peacekeeping mission is capable of restoring the status quo and the situation as it was on March 23. This was stated by Armenia's Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan during a press conference following his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, where he addressed questions regarding the expected activation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship and the measures being taken by Russia to return Azerbaijani units from the village of Parukh and surrounding areas to their original positions, thereby preventing similar incidents in the future. This is particularly important considering that over 400 people are currently unable to return to their homes due to the existing situation.

“As I mentioned, peacekeeping forces were deployed in the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh to maintain the status quo established on November 9, 2020, and to ensure the safety of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh. I repeat, we continue to believe that the status quo will be restored, and the Russian peacekeeping contingent will continue to carry out its crucial functions to ensure and guarantee the safety of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh,” Mirzoyan stated.

Regarding the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship, he noted, “Of course, the current geopolitical situation in the world has significantly complicated the work of the co-chairmanship. However, I am receiving certain other news, considering the very specific signals and information I have received from the co-chairs and many other countries. I would like to confirm that although our Azerbaijani counterparts repeat that the presidency of the Minsk Group has ceased to exist and that they have no issues to address since there is no longer a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, and that there is no region called Nagorno-Karabakh, despite all this, the international community continues to view the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the framework of the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group presidency, which I want to emphasize is very encouraging,” Mirzoyan added.