Russia is ready to provide all possible assistance in preparation of  peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia- Russian Foreign Ministry

ArmInfo.Russia is ready to provide all possible assistance in the preparation of a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia. This was stated in an interview with  TASS by director of the fourth department of the CIS countries of the  Russian Foreign Ministry Denis Gonchar.

"We are ready to continue to provide all possible assistance in the  delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the preparation  of a peace treaty between Baku and Yerevan, including through the  organization of relevant trilateral high-level meetings on the  territory of Russia. These processes, which are extremely sensitive  for both sides, require the search for mutually acceptable and  long-term solutions"  said the diplomat.

According to him, revealing the details of the negotiations or  discussing the positions of the parties in the press does not always  have a good effect on the process. "We are also preparing regular  contacts between the public and expert communities of the two  countries. This important area of joint efforts is designed to  promote the formation of an atmosphere of trust in relations between  Armenia and Azerbaijan," Gonchar added.

According to him, the tripartite inter-parliamentary dialogue, the  launch initiative of which was supported at the summit in Sochi, can  also make a contribution to this process. "The timing of the relevant  meetings will be announced in due course," he added.

Gonchar drew attention to the fact that at the summit in Sochi on  October 31, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia reaffirmed  their commitment to strict adherence to the trilateral agreements of  November 9, 2020, January 11 and November 26, 2021, which, together  with the statement following the results of the mentioned Sochi  meeting, form a road map of the comprehensive normalization of  Armenian- Azerbaijani relations. "Once again I would like to  emphasize the key role of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in  ensuring security in the zone of its deployment. The leaders of the  three countries especially noted this at the summit in Sochi and  emphasized the demand for the efforts of our peacekeepers to  stabilize the situation in the region," he added.

Regarding the unblocking of transport and economic ties between  Azerbaijan and Armenia, the diplomat noted, the 11th meeting of the  Trilateral Working Group was held in Moscow on December 6 under the  joint chairmanship of the vice-premiers of Russia, Azerbaijan and  Armenia. "The issues of railway construction, development of railway  communication and organization of transportation between the three  countries and in the region were discussed in detail. The Azerbaijani  and Armenian sides noted the positive role of Russia in efforts to  unblock transport communications," the director of the department  said.

He also noted that it is important for Moscow to make sure that  biological research in the post-Soviet space does not pose a threat  to Russia's security. "Against the background of the exposure of the  military biological activity of the United States and its satellites  in Ukraine, we are paying increased attention to cooperation on this  issue with the countries of the post-Soviet space, including the  states of the Transcaucasus. It is important for us to make sure that  biological research conducted in the immediate vicinity of our  borders, especially those that are carried out jointly with the USA  and other NATO countries, do not pose a threat to Russia's security,"  said the diplomat.

According to him, the Armenian side constructively perceives the  initiatives promoted by Russia to form a legal framework for  cooperation on biosafety on a bilateral basis, as well as within the  framework of the CSTO and the CIS. "On May 6, 2021, during the visit  of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Armenia, a bilateral  intergovernmental memorandum of understanding on ensuring biological  safety was signed," he explained. "In accordance with its provisions,  useful interdepartmental consultations on biological safety were held  in March of this year. Russian developments in the field of  biomedical security were presented to the Armenian partners."

"We see that Yerevan is ready to increase cooperation with Russian  partners, including studying the experience of legislative  regulation, improving infrastructure, training and advanced training  of personnel, joint production of vaccines and medical and technical  equipment," the diplomat said.

According to Gonchar, Russia expects more active cooperation with  Azerbaijani partners in this sensitive field. "This is completely in  line with the declaration on allied cooperation signed by our  leaders, which states that the parties will explore the possibilities  of establishing cooperation in the field of biological safety. Such a  dialogue is in the interests of both Moscow and Baku," he added. As  for Georgia, the diplomat noted, Moscow is still awaiting a response  from official Tbilisi to the Russian request for a visit by Russian  experts, based on the agreed parameters, to the Richard Lugar Public  Health Research Center operating in the suburbs of the Georgian  capital "in order to make sure that no closed military biological  research is conducted at its base."