ArmInfo. Russia advocates that everyone who wants to join the process of normalizing relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, ensuring stability and security in the South Caucasus, should not act on the principle of a zero-sum game, but proceed from the interests of the parties and take into account the tripartite agreements of the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia and Russia.
This is stated in the response of the Russian Foreign Ministry to the question of how Moscow sees the future of the South Caucasus.
At the same time, the Russian Foreign Ministry noted that Russia is consistently making efforts to resolve the situation on the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia, where, unfortunately, incidents with the use of weapons occur from time to time, there are human casualties.
"It is necessary to form and launch the work of the bilateral Commission on the delimitation of the Azerbaijani-Armenian border as soon as possible, with its subsequent demarcation. We are ready to provide consultative assistance to Baku and Yerevan in this process," the Russian Foreign Ministry noted. Regarding the problem of the return of prisoners of war, Moscow noted in particular: "As for the problem of prisoners of war, Russia is actively involved in its solution. It should be recalled, that Since December 2, 2020, with the mediation of Russian peacekeepers, a total of 146 detainees have been returned: 127 to the Armenian side and 19 to the Azerbaijani side," the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed.
The Foreign Ministry also stressed that they proceed from the need to fully implement the trilateral agreements enshrined in the Statements of the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia dated November 9, 2020, January 11, 2021 and November 26, 2021. "The priority tasks today are to launch the process of delimitation and demarcation of the Azerbaijani-Armenian border, as well as unblocking transport and economic ties in the region. Achieving progress in these areas will make it possible to make significant progress in the normalization of relations between Baku and Yerevan," the Foreign Ministry noted. The Russian Foreign Ministry also recalled that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and most of the CIS states, including Azerbaijan and Armenia. "We are preparing a series of anniversary events with each of the countries. Considering that a number of events will be of a cultural and educational nature, we proceed from the fact that they will be of interest to the public as well," the ministry concluded.