The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh remains relatively calm, isolated incidents arising due to an acute lack of trust between Baku and Yerevan are promptly resolved in working order, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Thursday.
"Both Baku and Yerevan in general highly appreciate the stabilizing role of our country, the Russian peacekeeping contingent, which is deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh along the line of contact and the Lachin corridor. Thanks to the actions of our peacekeepers on the ground the situation in the region has significantly improved, it remains relatively calm," she said.
"Data on refugees returning to their homes is regularly posted on the website of our country's Defense Ministry. And individual incidents manage to be resolved promptly in working order. The reasons for their occurrence are an acute trust deficit in relations between Baku and Yerevan," the diplomat continued.
According to Zakharova, the situation in South Caucasus is in the center of Russia's permanent attention. And the unconditional priority is the implementation of the trilateral agreements of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia on November 9, 2020, and January 11, 2021. She added that high-level contacts with Baku and Yerevan are held regularly. The necessary work is constantly conducted through foreign, defense and border departments, as well as embassies, the diplomat continued.
Zakharova stressed that Russia is in favor of comprehensive improvement of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations. "And, of course, we bring this position to both Baku and Yerevan, including at the highest levels. We call on both sides to eliminate the existing mutual irritants in the humanitarian field as soon as possible, to exchange prisoners of war according to the "all for all" formula, maps of minefields in full," she pointed out.
"I would like to note the absolute counterproductiveness of confrontational or even more belligerent rhetoric, which is sometimes resorted to by politicians in the Transcaucasus. This hits straight to the point and is detrimental to achieving a sustainable result," Zakharova continued.
Assistance
Commenting on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's recent statements that Baku expects Russia not to supply arms to Armenia, Zakharova noted that "Russia's implementation of arms supplies abroad is its sovereign right." "We read and hear a lot on this subject, but I would like to draw attention to the fact that we have this interaction with both Armenia and Azerbaijan. At the same time we take into account the need to maintain the balance of power in the region," she stressed.
She also noted that the Russian Interior Ministry has repeatedly appealed to Yerevan and Baku to refrain from the use of force and to use only political and diplomatic means to reduce tension. "We have emphasized the counterproductiveness of using confrontational rhetoric in the current circumstances. And we still believe that the long-term solution is to start negotiations on the delimitation of the border with its subsequent demarcation. We are ready to provide the necessary consultative assistance to this process," the diplomat concluded.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS