ArmInfo. Russia does not advocate the creation of any one specific route, but rather the complete unblocking of economic and transport communications in the South Caucasus, Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergei Kopyrkin stated in an interview with the socio-political publication "Soyuzniki. CSTO", in response to clarification on Russia's approach to the issue of organizing transit traffic through the southern region of Armenia - Syunik.
According to the diplomat, this is exactly what the Trilateral Working Group (TWG), created in 2021 by decision of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, under the joint chairmanship of the deputy prime ministers of the three countries, was doing.
"The work in the TWG was carried out rhythmically, and significant results were achieved. Thus, at the 12th meeting of the group in June 2023, a common understanding was agreed on the restoration and organization of railway communication between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We practically reached a comprehensive balanced agreement. Unfortunately, the process, through no fault of ours, stalled. Under pressure from the "collective West", Yerevan decided to freeze trilateral cooperation on this track as well," the ambassador said. According to him, Russia considers it necessary to resume full-fledged work of the TWG as soon as possible not only to unblock the transport and communication system of the South Caucasus, but also to establish sustainable peace and prosperity for the entire region as a whole.
Touching upon the state of Armenian-Russian bilateral relations, the diplomat emphasized that Russia maintains active bilateral cooperation with its partners in the international arena, including Armenia. Koprykin recalled the contacts between the countries at the highest level, drawing attention to the fact that cooperation in the trade and economic sphere is actively developing. In this vein, he added that the bilateral Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation is working productively. "Its co-chairs - Deputy Chairman of the Russian Government Alexey Overchuk and Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mher Grigoryan - communicate regularly, including within the framework of meetings in the EAEU format. Successful cooperation with Armenian partners on the cultural and humanitarian track stands out.
At the same time, our bilateral relations are not without some difficulties in the political aspect. It is not on our initiative that the dynamics of interdepartmental contacts have decreased, including between the Foreign and Defense Ministries of our countries. We note the overt pressure from the "collective West", which is trying to force Yerevan to minimize ties with our country, to limit them in every possible way.
Despite this, we continue to proceed from the fact that maintaining and deepening the allied relations between Russia and Armenia meets the true, fundamental interests of both countries. We note the publicly voiced intention of the Armenian authorities to work on eliminating problematic issues. We expect that this will be put into practice. For our part, we are ready for this," the Russian ambassador summed up.