ArmInfo.Any assessments about progress, regression or stagnation in the negotiations by official Yerevan are the absolute prerogative of this state. This was stated by spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova during a briefing on January 12, when asked to evaluate the statement of Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan about a certain regression in the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations.
"It seems to me that it would be more correct to find out the details from our Armenian partners. They, as representatives of a sovereign state, have the unconditional right to give their own assessments," she said, without ruling out the possibility of a direct connection between what Mirzoyan said and the visit by the US special representative for negotiations on Caucasus to Yerevan prior to this statement.
"But I will repeat again, this question should be addressed to Armenia. These issues should be resolved between the Armenian society and government bodies, politicians who were elected to realize national interests," she emphasized.
At the same time, the Russian diplomat emphasized that Moscow drew attention to the comment of the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations of the National Assembly of Armenia, MP from the Civil Contract faction Sargis Khandanyan that "the negotiating platforms of Washington and Brussels "have an international reputation, and thus their legitimacy increases." "You know, in order to please the West, one should not go to extremes and fall into absurdity," she said, expressing regret that the authors of such statements simply lost their sense of 'proportion'.
According to her, the uncontested road map for establishing a truly sustainable peace in the South Caucasus is a set of trilateral statements by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia in the period from 2020 to 2022.
"Washington and Brussels either directly copied them or altered them to suit their own opportunistic interests. What kind of legitimacy can we even talk about such pseudo-intermediaries, given that the collective West, led by the United States, is engaged in open violation of international law, provokes wars and conflicts, and arranges for people of 'color revolution', imposes rules invented by them, destroys the statehood of sovereign and independent countries. And another important point is whether 'proposals that contradict the national interests' will be discussed on these platforms with "greater legitimacy", she asked.
At the same time, the diplomat advised to know the history of both your country, region and international. In this vein, she recalled that many allies of Washington and Brussels became enemies overnight. At the same time, the diplomat advises: "Study the history of your country, as well as regional and international history.
"This is not only a matter of our assessment. This is a matter of national interests and national security of Armenia itself. In relation to the Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization, we have all seen what Western mediation is worth. After all, it was at the summits in Prague and Brussels under the auspices of the EU that the Armenian side recognized Nagorno-Karabakh part of Azerbaijan, completely forgetting about the need to ensure the rights and security of its Armenian population. How it all ended, you all know very well," the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry summed up.