West has no desire to help in Baku-Yerevan peace settlement

Sergey Lavrov made the comments after a meeting of top diplomats from the member countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

“Regrettably, what the United States and the European Union are now doing demonstrate little desire to help them reach an agreement but rather reveal their plans to win a foothold in the region, edge out Russia’s legal interests and establish themselves as a force that will play a decisive role here,” he said.

Such actions, in his words, reflect the West’s plans to reach regions that are located far from NATO and EU borders. “And this has little to do with any sincere desire to help stabilize the situation,” he noted, according to TASS.

“Our partners both in Yerevan and in Baku, I hope, understand this. At least, we discuss the developments with them quite openly,” he added.

“We are not against other international players trying their hand at mediation,” he pledged, but warned, “the most important thing is to ensure that this mediation is geared toward agreements that reflect a balance of interests between the Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples, the Armenian and Azerbaijani states.”

“Any agreements are only possible within the framework of the trilateral agreements that were signed by the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan, and the Armenian prime minister,” Lavrov stressed.

He recalled that the groundwork for the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan was laid thanks to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s personal involvement in November 2020, when the first trilateral statement on the settlement’s principles was signed.

This statement was followed by several more top-level trilateral statements on various aspects of what efforts are needed to normalize the situation. “They are the unblocking transport corridors and economic relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and in the South Caucasus in general,” he added.

Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, 2020, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Karabakh.

On November 9, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Karabakh.

Later, the three leaders adopted several more joint statements on the situation in the region. Thus, on January 11, 2021, they agreed to set up a working group at a level of deputy foreign ministers to focus on establishing transport and economic ties in the region.

SKH/PR