ArmInfo. Russia played a key role in stopping the Turkish- Azerbaijani aggression unleashed against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, which lasted for more than 6 weeks. Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Aivazian stated this on December 7 at a press conference following the talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
In this vein, he recalled that with the personal mediation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, it became possible to agree and conclude a joint trilateral statement on November 9, which made it possible to cease fire on the ground and deploy the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh.
At the same time, Aivazian believes that the presence of Russian peacekeepers creates conditions for the restoration of stability and tranquility in the region, and also serves as a guarantee of preventing provocations from Azerbaijan, its regional sponsor Turkey and foreign militant-terrorists recruited by them.
At the same time, the RA Foreign Minister believes that the cessation of hostilities opens up opportunities for the resumption of discussions within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group on the restoration of the peace process.
"We also discussed a set of issues caused by the extremely difficult humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, which has arisen as a result of targeted and methodical shelling of the Azerbaijani armed forces of peaceful settlements and important civilian infrastructure. We are grateful to Russia for the prompt and effective solution of humanitarian issues," the Armenian minister said , in this context, pointing out the importance of attracting international specialized organizations to address humanitarian issues.
He pointed out the priority of the issue of exchanging captured and prisoners of war, the bodies of dead servicemen, as well as the search for missing persons, pointing out the need for an urgent solution to this issue. Recalling Armenia's readiness to carry out an exchange on the principle of "all for all", Aivazian expressed hope that the Azerbaijani side will not try to disrupt the process.
He also pointed to the inhuman treatment of prisoners of war and held civilians by Azerbaijan. "Our prisoners of war and civilians who did not have time to leave their homes are subjected to cruel torture and beheaded alive in exactly the same way as ISIS did with hostages in the Middle East. Outrageous manifestation of vandalism and sacrilege is observed in relation to Armenian monuments and religious sites, churches and temples in Artsakh," the Armenian diplomat said, while pointing out the surge of a new wave of Armenophobia in the Azerbaijani society, which has been imposed by the leadership of Azerbaijan for decades.
At the same time, he stated that, in fact, Turkey, which is the main instigators of the war in Karabakh, continues to pursue a policy that is detrimental to the region, forcing the international community to use all possible levers to force Ankara to refrain from any actions that could further aggravate tension. Aivazian stressed that Turkey should withdraw its armed personnel and its affiliated groups from the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the South Caucasus as a whole.
In this regard, the Armenian minister stated that there are no clear signals about the withdrawal of foreign terrorist fighters from the region, meanwhile there is reliable information about Azerbaijan's intention to populate the occupied territories of Artsakh with militant - terrorists.
At the same time, Aivazian pointed out the importance of restoring all the rights of the 150,000 population of Artsakh. "In the context of the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, I would like to very clearly note that the principle of self- determination of the people of Artsakh lies at the heart of the settlement of the conflict. Armenia has acted and continues to speak from the position of the right of the people of Artsakh to self-determination and security. Long-term and lasting settlement of the conflict should be achieved through negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group," Aivazian summed up.