Russia`s attitude to Armenia unclear, arousing concern - MP

ArmInfo.Vigen Khachatryan, deputy of the RA National Assembly from the ruling "Civil Contract"  faction, does not have high expectations from today's meeting in Moscow of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan Ararat Mirzoyan, Sergey Lavrov and Jeyhun Bayramov. He  stated this on May 19 in an interview with reporters.

According to Khachatryan, the behavior that Azerbaijan demonstrates  is clearly unconstructive. Baku not only resorts to constant  provocations, firing shots in the direction of the combat positions  of the Armenian armed forces, but also avoids the implementation of  previously reached agreements. "I got the impression that Azerbaijan  is not interested in a civilized resolution of problems," the MP  said.

He also noted that, unlike the West, the Russian side assumed the  obligations of a mediator. Khachatryan recalled that when the  so-called "eco-activists" closed the road to Artsakh, Russian Foreign  Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that the solution to this problem was a  matter of days and the corridor would soon be opened. 

"The same Lavrov declared the unacceptability of the installation of  a checkpoint by Azerbaijan, which, nevertheless, continues to  function. I cannot understand the behavior of the Russian Federation.  In contrast to Russia, the West does not have any obligations towards  Armenia and the region, in particular, it only creates platforms  where attempts are made to resolve all contentious issues. The  Armenian people are bound not only by allied relations with Russia,  but also by age-old bonds of friendship between the peoples of the  two countries. However, this behavior of Moscow cannot but cause  surprise," the MP said. He hopes the meeting will produce results. 

Khachatryan stressed that Russia, being the backbone of the CSTO,  should have clearly stated the fact of aggression by Azerbaijan  against the sovereign territory of Armenia, thereby giving a  political assessment of the situation and demanding from Baku the  withdrawal of its troops from the territory of the country. 

"Their silence, and sometimes their actions, lead to new provocations  from Azerbaijan. There are many examples of this, when Russian  peacekeepers or border guards retreat from the agreed positions, and  Azerbaijanis immediately take their place, which cannot but cause  concern," Khachatryan concluded.

Recall that on May 19 in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei  Lavrov receives colleagues from Armenia and Azerbaijan Ararat  Mirzoyan and Jeyhun Bayramov. According to the press service of the  Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation, the ministers will hold  tripartite talks on the topic of normalizing relations between Baku  and Yerevan. In addition, a separate Armenian-Azerbaijani meeting  will be held on the prospects for concluding a peace treaty.

According to the official representative of the Russian diplomatic  mission, Maria Zakharova, the foreign ministers will discuss in  detail the implementation of the agreements between the leaders of  Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, "including the unblocking of  transport and economic ties, the delimitation of the  Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the preparation of a peace treaty  between countries, as well as contacts between the public, experts  and parliamentarians. She informed that Lavrov also plans to hold  separate meetings with his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts,  during which "an exchange of views on the most pressing issues on the  bilateral and international agenda" is expected.