Russia says it held talks with U.S. and EU on Nagorno-Karabakh ahead  of crisis

ArmInfo. Russia exchanged views with the United States and the European Union on the situation  in Nagorno-Karabakh ahead of the lightning military operation by Azerbaijan last month, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

Politico earlier reported that top officials from the United States  and the EU met their Russian counterparts in Turkey for emergency  talks about Karabakh just days before Azerbaijan launched its  operation in the breakaway region.

"The U.S. and EU approached us and asked us to hold a meeting,"  Zakharova told reporters. She said the sides exchanged views on the  situation in Karabakh.

"There was nothing secret about this meeting; it was an ordinary  exchange of views. We shall see how the West will present all this  now."

According to an earlier report by Politico, top officials from the  United States and the EU met with their Russian counterparts for  undisclosed emergency talks in Turkey designed to resolve the  standoff over Nagorno-Karabakh, just days before Azerbaijan launched  a military offensive last month to seize the breakaway territory from  ethnic Armenian control.

The off-diary meeting marks a rare - if ultimately unsuccessful -  contact between Moscow and the West on a major security concern,  after Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in  February 2022 upended regular diplomacy.

A senior diplomat with knowledge of the discussions told POLITICO the  meeting took place on September 17 in Istanbul as part of efforts to  pressure Azerbaijan to end its nine-month blockade of the enclave and  allow in humanitarian aid convoys from Armenia. According to the  envoy, the meeting focused on "how to get the bloody trucks moving"  and ensure supplies of food and fuel could reach its estimated  100,000 residents.

The U.S. was represented by Louis Bono, Washington's senior adviser  for Caucasus negotiations, while the EU dispatched Toivo Klaar, its  representative for the region. Russia, meanwhile, sent Igor Khovaev,  who serves as Putin's special envoy on relations between Armenia and  Azerbaijan.

Such high-level diplomatic interaction is rare. In March, U.S.  Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey  Lavrov came face to face on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in India  - but Moscow insisted the exchange happened "on the move" and no  negotiations were held.

In a statement provided to POLITICO, an EU official said "we believe  it is important to maintain channels of communications with relevant  interlocutors to avoid misunderstandings." The official also observed  Klaar had sought to keep lines open on numerous fronts over the "past  years," including in talks with Khovaev and Russian Deputy Foreign  Minister Mikhail Galuzin.

A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department declined to comment on  the meeting, saying only that "we do not comment on private  diplomatic discussions."

However, a U.S. official familiar with the matter who was granted  anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic matters explained the  discussions came out of an understanding that the Kremlin still holds  sway in the region. "We need to be able to work with the Russians on  this because they do have influence over the parties, especially as  we're at a precarious moment right now," the American official said.

Azerbaijan launched a lightning offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh on  September 19, sending tanks and troops into the region under the  cover of heavy artillery bombardment. Karabakh Armenian leaders were  forced to surrender following 24 hours of fierce fighting that killed  hundreds on both sides. Since then, the Armenian government says more  than 100,000 people have fled their homes and crossed the border,  fearing for their lives.

Azerbaijan insists it has the right to take action against "illegal  armed formations" on its internationally recognized territory, and  has pledged to "reintegrate" those who have stayed behind. European  Council President Charles Michel described the military operation as  "devastating," while Blinken has joined calls for Azerbaijan "to  refrain from further hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh and provide  unhindered humanitarian access."