RA MoFA responds to Baku`s accusations regarding trilateral statement  of 2020

ArmInfo.The trilateral statement from November 9, 2020 states that Russian peacekeepers will  be present in Nagorno-Karabakh, and there will be a 5 km wide Lachin corridor under their control.

However, currently there is no Lachin  corridor or Russian peacekeepers. This was the response of Ani  Badalyan, the press secretary of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, to  the statement made by her Azerbaijani  counterpart  accusing Yerevan  of not fullfilling its obligations outlined in the trilateral  statement of November 9, 2020, regarding the unblocking of  communications in the region.

 "However, Azerbaijan claims that the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh  does not exist, Nagorno-Karabakh does not exist, which essentially  means a refusal of this obligation under the trilateral declaration.  As of now, no Armenian refugees or internally displaced persons have  returned to Nagorno-Karabakh or the adjacent areas. The trilateral  declaration from November 9, 2020 includes provisions for the  exchange of prisoners of war, hostages and other detainees. To this  day, Armenians remain detained in Azerbaijani prisons, including  those captured in November or October 2020. Azerbaijan argues that  they are not prisoners of war. If they are not prisoners of war, then  they are hostages or other detainees. The wording of the trilateral  declaration is applicable to any person in custody," she noted in an  interview with Armenpress. 

According to her, the issue of missing persons is also constantly  raised in Azerbaijan. However, Badalyan drew attention to the fact  that the Republic of Armenia is also raising this issue, as a result  of two wars, the Armenian side has about a thousand missing people.  She emphasized that Armenia is ready to cooperate on this issue as  well.

"As for paragraph 9 of the trilateral declaration, it stipulates that  the Republic of Armenia will facilitate the passage of goods,  vehicles and people through its territory and ensure their safety.  The statement is straightforward and clear. It is evident that the  Republic of Armenia is obligated to do so within the scope of its  jurisdiction and sovereignty. As for the border service bodies of the  FSB of the Russian Federation, their physical presence is not  specified in paragraph 9 of the trilateral statement," she assured.   In this context she stated that the RA government's "Crossroads of  Peace" project accurately otlines the roadmap for fulfilling the  obligations assumed by the Republic of Armenia. As part of  this  initiative, proposals have been submitted to the Azerbaijani side.

"Being interested in unblocking the entire transport and economic  infrastructure of the region, as outlined in the trilateral  declaration, we have proposed and continue to propose to Azerbaijan  to initiate the unblocking process as soon as possible," the diplomat  said. It is noteworthy that the Prime Minister of Armenia, in his  speech on October 12 at a forum dedicated to this issue, acknowledged  that paragraph 9 includes the presence of Russian FSB border forces.  However, as Pashinyan himself stated, it is evident from the decree  of the President of Russia dated November 10, 2020 that the wording   in paragraph 9 implies monitoring on the road and does not violate  the jurisdiction of the Republic of Armenia.