Russian Foreign Ministry stresses unacceptability of any unilateral  steps in violation of basic provisions of tripartite statement of  November 9, 2020

ArmInfo. We express our serious concern about the situation in the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent (RPC) in Nagorno-Karabakh, on the Armenian-Azerbaijani line of contact, as well as in the dialogue between official Baku and Yerevan. This is stated in the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry on the situation in the process of Armenian- Azerbaijani normalization.

The Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized that it is extremely  concerned that there is an increase in ceasefire violations and  various types of incidents, which regularly cause casualties on both  sides.

"We consider the increased degree of accusatory and aggressive  rhetoric in the public space of Azerbaijan and Armenia to be no less  dangerous. In the context of the latest developments on April 23, we  particularly note the unacceptability of any unilateral steps in  violation of the basic provisions of the tripartite statement of the  leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia dated November 9, 2020,  whether we are talking about an uncoordinated change in the mode of  operation of the Lachin corridor or about attempts to use it for  purposes that do not meet the peace agenda," the Russian Foreign  Ministry stressed.

At the same time, official Moscow called on the parties to  immediately return to the existing agreements.

"We proceed from the premise that in any case the local population  should not suffer and no obstacles should be created for their  livelihoods.

We believe that many of the problems that have arisen are the result  of many months of idleness and the lack of progress in the  negotiation process on the main tracks of the trilateral agreements  between the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, including the  unblocking of transport communications in the region, the launch of  the process of delimiting the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and  agreeing on the parameters of a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and  Armenia. We hope that Baku and Yerevan will show political will and  be able to overcome this negative trend in the near future.

The Russian side is ready to provide all necessary assistance to its  friends Azerbaijan and Armenia, both at the political level and "on  the ground" - with the participation of the RPC command.

We also warn external Western players and local Russophobic elements  working on their opportunistic agenda against attempts to stir up the  situation, including through a denigrating campaign against Russia,"  the Russian Foreign Ministry concluded.  It should be noted that on  April 23, in the afternoon, Azerbaijan officially announced the  establishment of a checkpoint on the Lachin (Berdzor)-Stepanake road.  At the same time, the border service of the enemy side cited another  false argument as the reason for establishing the checkpoint,  allegedly in order to prevent the transfer of manpower, ammunition,  mines, and other military equipment from Armenia to Artsakh. The  establishment of a checkpoint in the corridor contradicts paragraph 6  of the tripartite statement of the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and  Russia dated November 9, 2020.