ArmInfo.The settlement of border incidents should be carried out exclusively by political and diplomatic measures.
This was stated on July 22 during a weekly briefing by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, referring to the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the militaristic rhetoric of the Azerbaijani leadership. She recalled that Russia, which has close friendly relations with both Armenia and Azerbaijan, pays special attention to the situation on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border, and of course, to the situation in Nagorno- Karabakh, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent is stationed. The representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry also added that the Russian side continues to make a significant contribution to maintaining stability, establishing a peaceful life in Nagorno-Karabakh, resolving pressing humanitarian issues, including the return of prisoners of war, refugees, the return and exchange of bodies of the dead.
"We are helping to build confidence-building measures between Baku and Yerevan. We continue to work to ensure access to the region of the UNESCO mission, UNHCR. Of course, we perceive with concern any manifestations of escalation of tension on certain sections of the Azerbaijani-Armenian border. And of course, this extremely negatively affects the regional situation and does not contribute to the normalization of the dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan, leading to unjustified losses among the population of the two countries, "Zakharova said, in this context expressing condolences to the relatives of the deceased Armenian soldier, and wishing a speedy recovery to all victims of border incidents.
At the same time, she pointed out the extreme importance of refraining from confrontational rhetoric, from forceful methods. "A systematic, painstaking work is required in order to find compromises. This is exactly what we are setting up both sides for. We are convinced that a sustainable de-escalation can only be ensured by an urgent start of work on the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, with its subsequent demarcation," the Russian diplomat said, expressing Moscow's readiness to share available cartographic information.
In this vein, she said that the Russian side had prepared a number of documents that could translate the discussions into a constructive channel. Zakharova added that currently consultations on this issue are taking place through the Foreign Ministry, defense departments, as well as the border services of the three countries.
The Russian diplomat also pointed out that the issue of regional stability was the focus of the meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliyev this month. According to her, at this meeting, the leaders of the two countries, despite the complexity and scale of the tasks in the region, confirmed their determination to continue joint activities in order to find optimal solutions.
"They expressed their firm resolve to consistently and comprehensively implement the agreements of November 9, 2020, which stopped the bloodshed of January 11, this year, which opened up prospects for unblocking communications in the South Caucasus region.
We state with satisfaction that the established trilateral working group co-chaired by the Deputy Prime Ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia held several rounds of substantive discussions and synchronization of watches on the ground, outlined a set of necessary measures to restore transport and economic ties. We hope that in the near future it will be able to restore its meetings, "the diplomat said, expressing her conviction that this, in turn, will allow the transition to the implementation of joint phased infrastructure projects. In her words, this fully meets the interests of both Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the whole South Caucasus as a whole.