Russia Hopes That Armenian-Azerbaijani Conflict Will Be Resolved Through Jointly Developed Peace Initiatives

Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, expressed hope that peace initiatives jointly developed with Russia will be implemented in the process of resolving the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

“This region can literally be called a key one, another region where there is still hope that the parties (Armenia and Azerbaijan) will execute the peace initiatives developed together with Russia,” she said during a broadcast on Sputnik.

Zakharova referred to the Western attempts to get involved in the situation in the South Caucasus as brazen. According to her, this policy is pursued not for the purpose of resolving the conflict, but for precisely the opposite aims. “Unfortunately, we have seen such a trend here for many years. Now the pro-Western elements have become more active,” the diplomat added.

She recalled that there are no successful examples of conflict resolution with the participation of Western partners. Moreover, the number of conflicts has been increasing due to the West's actions and initiatives. “No one can say that anywhere the collective West has set foot, hand or mind, the situation has improved,” Zakharova stated.

It is worth noting that yesterday, during a joint press conference with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Russia does not oppose external players being involved in the Azerbaijan-Armenia negotiations, but the so-called civilian mission of the European Union raises numerous questions regarding legitimacy.

It is recalled that a 100-person European mission has been deployed in Armenia since February 20 for a two-year mandate. Although the EU mission is considered civilian, 50 of them are gendarmes.