Wednesday, July 31 2024 14:28

ArmInfo. Russia advocates for the resolution of all contentious issues between Armenia and Azerbaijan exclusively by political and diplomatic means. This was stated by Deputy Director of the Foreign Ministry's Information and Press Department Andrey Nastasin in response to a request to assess the ongoing armament of Azerbaijan and Baku's territorial claims against the sovereign territories of Armenia. "In order to prevent escalation, we urge Baku and Yerevan to exercise caution, avoid aggressive language, and focus on finding mutually acceptable solutions to achieve stable peace and prosperity in the South Caucasus region as soon as possible," Nastasin said. 

At the same time, he added that the only roadmap for this is the implementation of trilateral agreements between the leaders of Armenia, Russia, and Azerbaijan. 

At the same time, he emphasized the importance on focusing on the current events  happening around Armenia and in the region today.  "The main thing is the active efforts of the West, specifically the US and the EU, to destroy the established connections in the South Caucasus. Western powers want to destabilize the region, transforming it into another hotbed of tension or even a second front near Russia's borders. To achieve this, they are trying to infiltrate all areas of our multifaceted relations with regional partners, with special focus on security," the Russian diplomat stated. In this context, he recalled that Moscow has frequently told about the intelligence operations of the EU civilian mission in Armenia. 

When asked to evaluate Azerbaijan's unwillingness to even consider the idea of Armenians returning to Artsakh, let alone to the Azerbaijani cities they departed from in the early 90s of the last century, while Baku itself insists on settling Azerbaijanis in Armenia, Nastasin admitted that due to the prolonged Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, there are thousands of refugees and displaced persons on both sides. 

"Russia has consistently advocated for the establishment of a lasting, sustainable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This is precisely what the set of trilateral agreements at the highest level, which I mentioned above, is aimed at. They provide a step-by-step solution to the most complex problems, including those of a socio-humanitarian nature, and the launch of a dialogue between representatives of civil society. This is not only about refugees, but also about preventing a war with monuments," the Russian diplomat emphasized. Nastasin also refrained from directly answering to a question about Moscow's position on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdongan's statement regarding Ankara's direct involvement in the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh in the fall of 2020. The diplomat simply noted that it was due to the efforts of Russia and its President Vladimir Putin that  the bloodshed in the conflict zone was halted.  He also mentioned that at the cost of the lives of 6 Russian peacekeepers, hostilities in Nagorno- Karabakh were stopped in September 2023.