Lavrov: Claims of Armenian Officials that Russia 'Handed Over' Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan are False

Statements by Armenian officials claiming that Russia has 'handed over' Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan do not reflect reality, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated at a press conference in New Delhi.

“Some figure, apparently the speaker of the parliament, has allowed himself to say that Russia has given Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan. It is hard to imagine a more incorrect and dishonest statement. He referred to the fact that Nagorno-Karabakh was given to Azerbaijan by Russia when Putin, Pashinyan, and Aliyev signed the first trilateral agreements in November 2020. This absolutely does not correspond to reality,” Lavrov told reporters.

“One should not blame us for giving Nagorno-Karabakh in November 2020; one should independently answer to their own people,” Lavrov concluded. Earlier, the Russian Foreign Minister had also commented on the joint Armenian-American military exercises in Armenia, noting that Yerevan has refused CSTO exercises but is beginning exercises with the USA, which seems strange.