Arayik Harutyunyan Responds to Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sharply noted during a press conference held on December 23 that the Nagorno-Karabakh issue remains a legacy of the Soviet Union. This was stated by the President of Artsakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, on his Facebook page.

Regarding the visit of Azerbaijani 'environmentalists' to the mines, the reality is that after blocking the only road connecting Artsakh to Armenia for the first time on December 3, the Azerbaijani side conveyed written proposals to the authorities of Artsakh through Russian peacekeepers, which had no relation to environmental issues and were absolutely unacceptable for Artsakh.

Despite this, the Artsakh side showed a constructive approach by conveying the conditions to the Azerbaijani side through peacekeepers, under which they would be willing to allow the visit of Azerbaijani environmentalists to the mines. The Azerbaijani side did not adhere to the conditions set by the Artsakh side, and their response was a renewed long-term blockade of the road, creating serious humanitarian issues for the 120,000 residents of Artsakh and grossly violating the points of the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020.

We hope that during today’s meeting between the Foreign Ministers of the Russian Federation and Azerbaijan, the importance of adhering to the points of the trilateral statement was also discussed.

Nevertheless, despite the violations by the Azerbaijani side, the Artsakh authorities declare today that they are in a constructive mood and are ready to engage as a negotiating party in any discussions regarding issues pertaining to Artsakh. It is noteworthy that the Russian Foreign Minister assured during his press conference today that Russia, like no one else, is interested in a lasting and just peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Lavrov told Bayramov that the parties’ agreement on the visit of the Azerbaijani monitoring commission was disrupted not due to Russian peacekeepers but rather the responsibility lies with the leadership of the Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh.