Lavrov: I Hope Both Yerevan and Baku Understand that the West has No Genuine Desire to Assist in the Settlement

Moscow hopes that both Baku and Yerevan understand that the West has no genuine desire to assist in the peaceful settlement of relations between them. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a press briefing following a meeting of the foreign ministers of the CSTO member countries.

“Unfortunately, what the United States is currently doing, as well as what the European Union is doing, we see not as an intention to assist negotiations, but rather a desire to penetrate the region, to exert pressure on the legitimate interests of the Russian Federation, and to establish itself as a decisive power,” Lavrov said.

According to TASS, Lavrov believes that such actions by the West reflect its desire to “expand into regions that are far from NATO and EU member country borders, and this has little to do with a sincere desire to help stabilize the situation.”

“I hope that our partners in both Yerevan and Baku understand this. In any case, we sincerely discuss what is happening with them,” Lavrov stated.

“We are not against other international players trying to mediate,” he assured.

At the same time, the Russian Foreign Minister warned: “The main thing is that this mediation should aim to secure agreements that reflect a balance of interests of the Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples and states.” He noted that “the achievement of agreements is only possible within the framework of the trilateral agreements signed by the Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Armenia.”

Lavrov recalled that the basis for the settlement of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan was established thanks to the personal intervention of Russian President Vladimir Putin in November 2020, when the first trilateral statement on the principles of final settlement was signed.