YEREVAN, May 29. /TASS/. The Armenian government is in favor of Russian peacekeepers and observers from other countries within the OSCE Minsk Group (France and the US) being sent to a disputed area on the border with Azerbaijan, if Yerevan and Baku both decide to withdraw their troops at the same time, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during a meeting with activists of the Civil Contract Party on Saturday.
"We agree to withdraw our troops from the area of Sotk-Khoznavar when the Minsk Group co-chairs get the signal from Baku that they are ready for similar steps. After that, Russian border guards may be sent to this area, if our Russian partners agree to this idea. Both Russian peacekeepers and observers from other states of the Minsk Group can be sent there, after which we will begin the border demarcation and delimitation process," he stated.
Russia remains Armenia’s main partner on security issues, and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) remains its main security system, Nikol Pashinyan said. "I would like to stress that Russia remains our main partner in the sphere of security. We have agreements with Russia on a joint group of forces and a joint air defense system. The CSTO is our country’s main security system, and it should remain as such," he said.
The plan of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group on de-escalation of the border situation with Azerbaijan is acceptable to Armenia, Yerevan is ready to withdraw its forces and expects Baku to do the same, Pashinyan said. "The Minsk Group is offering the sides to withdraw their forces and then to begin the border demarcation and delimitation process with the aid of the Minsk Group. We are talking about the Sotk-Khoznavar zone. We are ready to withdraw our forces at any moment and begin the demarcation process, we expect the same to be done by the Azerbaijani government, which is currently in talks with the Minsk Group," he stated.
The situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border has remained tense since May 12. That day, the Armenian Defense Ministry announced that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces attempted to carry out "certain operations" in order to "adjust the border" in the Syunik Region. The Azerbaijani Forces reportedly stopped their operations after the Armenian Defense Ministry took response measures. Armenia views this incident as an attempt against its sovereignty. According to Pashinyan, the Azerbaijani forces traveled 3.5 km into Armenian territory. Later, Yerevan announced it had contacted the Collective Security Treaty Organization over the border incident. Armenia did not rule out that it may address the UN Security Council over this situation if CSTO mechanisms fail to resolve this issue.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated on Wednesday that Russia is ready to aid the peaceful regulation of the Azerbaijani-Armenian border dispute and to facilitate the launch of the border delimitation process. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday during a meeting with his Armenian colleague Vagarshak Arutyunyan that Russia and Armenia are successfully implementing the agreement on the creation of a joint group of forces.
On Thursday, Azerbaijan announced that it had detained six Armenian servicemen near the border during an alleged sabotage attempt. Armenia confirmed that they had been detained, noting however that they were conducting engineering works. Pashinyan condemned the incident as kidnapping of Armenian troops. Yerevan addressed the ECHR over this incident.