The Commission on Delimitation of the State Border between Armenia and Azerbaijan can be created in the nearest future, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko told RIA Novosti.
He recalled that on November 26 in Sochi, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed to create a bilateral commission on delimitation of the state border between Armenia and Azerbaijan with Russia's advisory assistance.
"We assume that this will happen soon. We do not see any insurmountable obstacles on the way to implementing this agreement on the highest level," he said.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister noted that from the very beginning of tension on certain parts of Armenian-Azerbaijani border in May, Russia acted as a mediator and offered its assistance in launching relevant negotiation process between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
"I should note that the incidents are not directly related to the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeepers. The problem is inherited from the Soviet times and is conditioned by the lack of proper international legal registration of the state border between the two countries along its entire length," he stressed.
At the end of September 2020, hostilities resumed in Nagorno-Karabakh, resulting in the continuation of a long-running conflict and casualties among the civilian population as well. The parties made several attempts to conclude a cease-fire, but a trilateral agreement reached on the night of November 10 was successful. With Moscow's mediation, Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed to a complete cease-fire, to hold their positions and to exchange prisoners and bodies. In addition, Baku transferred Kelbajar and Lachin districts, as well as part of the Agdam district, which during the interwar period were under the control of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Russian peacekeepers have been stationed in the region, including in the Lachin corridor.
On November 26 in Sochi on the initiative of the Russian side were held trilateral talks of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia Vladimir Putin, Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan timed to the anniversary of the signing of the statement on a cease-fire in Nagorno-Karabakh. The sides agreed to create mechanisms for border demarcation and delimitation between the two Transcaucasian republics by the end of the year and stressed the need to launch projects as soon as possible in order to unlock Karabakh's economic potential.
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Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from RIA Novosti