The deployment of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno Karabakh is meant to prevent provocations and ensure the security of the Nagorno Karabakh people, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said.
His remarks came at a joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
"The visit takes place under conditions when the main topic of discussion between the top leaders of our countries is the situation in the South Caucasus, the situation in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the actions aimed at rolling the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh into a humanitarian crisis, the "breakdown" at the gas pipeline on the territory under the control of Azerbaijani Armed Forces, the permanent violation of the cease-fire, against the background of other geopolitical events, the intrusion of Azerbaijani AF on 24 March into Nagorno-Karabakh, in Parukh village, in the Russian peacekeepers' responsibility zone. This is a constant exaggeration of the "corridor" theme, negatively influencing the process leading to unblocking of all transport and economic communications in the region; this is an actual blocking of international structures' activity in Nagorno-Karabakh, this is a refusal to withdraw the units of their armed forces, penetrated to the territory of Armenia, and so on," Mirzoyan said.
The minister reiterated Russia's key role in suspending Azerbaijani aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh, the deployment of Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh was designed to be a factor in preventing provocations and ensuring the security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and creating conditions for the restoration of normal life. "We highly appreciate the mediation efforts of Russia, including in the framework of the co-chairmanship of the OSCE MG. We also highly appreciate the efforts of Russia aimed at the implementation of the agreements stipulated in the statements of November 9, 2020, January 11 and November 26, 2021. I would like to stress once again Armenia's commitment to the implementation of all the agreements, among which the return of prisoners of war and other detainees and the preservation of the historical and cultural heritage in the territories, which are now under Azerbaijani control, remains a top priority. We believe that only through peaceful negotiations can we achieve a solution that will bring peace and stability to the South Caucasus," Mirzoyan said.
Armenian FM said that he also presented the Armenian side's position on launching negotiations on the peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In this regard, he reiterated the importance of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs' full work in accordance with the mandate received from the international community.