19:30,
YEREVAN, JUNE 22, ARMENPRESS. Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Ani Badalyan, in response to the media's inquiry, commented on the June 21 statement of the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, regarding the incident that took place in the Lachin Corridor on June 15, urging the signatories of November 9, 2020 declaration and other tripartite statements accepted by the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan, to steadily implement their commitments, instead of seeking justifications.
ARMENPRESS reports, answering the question "how will you interpret the statements made by the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry on June 21 regarding the incident near the Hakari Bridge on June 15?", the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia stated,
"In response to the comment of the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, I consider it necessary to mention the following.
- The incident of June 15 did not take place in the Lachin Corridor, as the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry notes, but in the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, on the Armenian side of the Hakari Bridge.
- There is a clear contradiction in the interpretation of the Russian side. If, due to the lack of delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, it is not possible to say exactly where the border line passes, and this is the reason for the ongoing problems, as the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry claims, then the question arises on what basis and principle the Azerbaijani flag was being raised on June 15 on this particular part of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, on this side of the bridge. By the way, let us record that this same thesis is regularly repeated verbatim by the Azerbaijani side when carrying out aggressive actions against the borders of the Republic of Armenia and invading the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia.
- It is not clear why Russian peacekeepers participated in that operation of Azerbaijan, when both the purpose and even the location of the operation were clearly outside the scope of the peacekeepers' functions and responsibility. We remind that the only function of the Russian peacekeepers was to keep the 5 km wide corridor of Lachin under control.
- By the way, after the June 15 incident, the Azerbaijani side completely blocked the Lachin Corridor, as a result of which even humanitarian supplies, including food and medicine, are not being delivered to Nagorno-Karabakh, even seriously ill persons in need of medical care are not being transported from Nagorno Karabakh to Armenian medical institutions through the ICRC, , gas and electricity supply continues to be interrupted.
In conclusion, we would like to urge the signatories of November 9, 2020 declaration and other tripartite statements accepted by the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan, to steadily implement their commitments, instead of seeking justifications.