Baku and Yerevan, as they themselves noted, have a lot to do; in particular, to overcome the remaining differences, sign a peace treaty, complete the delimitation and demarcation of the border on fair grounds, unblock transport communications, and do it in a way that is in the interests of both countries as well as the largest political and economic neighbors in the region. Among them are Russia, Iran, and Turkey. Maria Zakharova, Spokesperson of Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated this during a press briefing Friday and in response to a question about contributing to the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and contacts on this matter.
According to Zakharova, the 3+3 regional cooperation platform is a good platform for discussing the normalization of Armenian-Russian relations and some other topics related to the South Caucasus.
“We [i.e. Russia] expect that our Azerbaijani and Armenian partners will take active steps to quickly agree on the venue and dates of the next meeting of the heads of foreign ministries of the countries of this platform. For our part, we confirm our readiness to provide our partners with the necessary assistance on the whole range of matters,” the Russian Foreign Ministry's Spokesperson said.
She noted that Russia’s unshakable priority is the strengthening of peace and stability in the South Caucasus.
“We have always advocated that the long-awaited reconciliation between Baku and Yerevan be of a sustainable nature. This is a necessary condition for the prosperity of the entire region. Russia’s contribution to the process of normalizing of interstate relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia is difficult to overestimate,” Zakharova said.
She added that the current phase of normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations had begun with the active assistance by Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, himself.
“With our direct participation, it became possible to reach bilateral agreements at the highest level in 2020-2022. They literally stopped the bloodshed on the ground, and defined the main directions of the peace process in the South Caucasus.
A set of measures was agreed upon, a comprehensive program in all key domains: the development of a peace treaty, the unblocking of transport and economic ties in the region, the demarcation and delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the development of dialogue through civil society.
All these developments have not only not lost their relevance, but are also successfully used today by our Azerbaijani and Armenian partners. In this context, we welcome the progress achieved," Zakharova concluded.
