Lavrov: Trilateral group on unblocking all communications in the  South Caucasus is not about punishment

ArmInfo.The trilateral working group on resuming economic ties, restoring all communications, unblocking all communications is not about punishment. This was  stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the Primakov  Readings forum, answering the question of Turkey's coercion into the  process of unblocking communications, against the background of the  presence of a trilateral working group at the level of deputy prime  ministers of the Russian Federation, Armenia and Azerbaijan on this  issue.

According to him, this is a group about the restoration of normal  economic life, which existed until the 80s, when the war broke out  (in the zone of Nagorno-Karabakh - ed. note), and which was stopped  after 4 years.  "Now, if we talk about who waged the war and fought,  this question is closed for all of us as sane people.  The bloodshed  ended. It ended a little later than we suggested to the parties. And  it is not our fault that the truce was reached later than it could  have been achieved",  said Lavrov.

In this vein, he recalled that Russia was only a mediator and could  not force the parties - one or the other - to do some things.  According to him, Russia was only trying to convince that further  bloodshed is senseless and dangerous, and above all for how people  will live on this earth further.  Lavrov stated that now the Russian  peacekeepers are fulfilling their mandate (in Nagorno-Karabakh - ed.   note). "There are no major incidents at all. Both Yerevan and Baku  confirm that. Some minor tensions are eliminated quite quickly. Yes,  there is a separate tension in certain sections of the  Azerbaijani-Armenian border, but this has nothing to do with  Nagorno-Karabakh," he said, adding that simultaneously with the  suspension of hostilities on November 9, 2020, the presidents agreed  to unblock all communications.

The Russian Foreign Minister stressed that this was one of the main  principles agreed upon many years ago through the co-chairmanship of  the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France and the United States. He added  that in development of this principled agreement, a meeting of the  leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan took place in January of  this year, at which a trilateral working group was created at the  level of deputy prime ministers, which is exclusively engaged in  unblocking communications and ties in this region.  According to him,  this also applies to the railway, and power lines and much more. "All  this is on the negotiating table. There are competently selected  people who are engaged in prioritizing routes that will have to be  priority in terms of unblocking communications. And, of course, the  parties take into account the interests of their neighbors," said the  chief diplomat of Russia, while calling it unrealistic and it would  be wrong not to take into account the opinion of neighboring  countries - Turkey and Iran on this issue.  Lavrov once again  stressed that this is a critical area, where many routes pass:  strategic - North-South, East-West. According to him, here, too, you  need to think not about who to attract or punish, but about how to  build relationships for the long term.

At the same time, he expressed his conviction that the effectiveness  of the trilateral group will be determined by how much this  unblocking will directly help improve people's lives. "As for Turkey  and its role, as I said, in these trilateral discussions the  interests of Turkey and Iran are unambiguously taken into account,  otherwise all this unblocking will not have the maximum effect," he  said.  In conclusion, Lavrov also recalled the work of the joint  Russian-Turkish center for monitoring compliance with the ceasefire  regime, which is located on the territory of Azerbaijan. The diplomat  called the center a useful component of the agreements reached. "It  provides a sense of involvement of Turkish colleagues in this  process. This is a stabilizing factor," Lavrov summed up.