Supplying Armenia With Arms is Russia’s Sovereign Right – Zakharova Responds to Aliyev

MOSCOW — Russia stands for a comprehensive improvement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, and calls on the parties to exchange prisoners of war and maps of minefields, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a press briefing today.

She said both Armenia and Azerbaijan are well aware of Moscow’s position. According to Zakharova, the unconditional priority is the implementation of the trilateral agreements signed by the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan on November 9, 2020 and January 11 this year.

“Contacts at the highest levels with Yerevan and Baku are carried out regularly. During the summer, the Russian President met with the Armenian Prime Minister on July 7 and the Azerbaijani President on July 20 in Moscow,” she recalled.

“The details of the discussions are of interest to you, but given the particular sensitivity of the issue, including security, the details do not always become public because the publicity can really interfere with the achievement of a sustainable result,” she said.

Zakharova said confrontational or bellicose rhetoric that political leaders of the South Caucasus countries sometimes resort to are absolutely counterproductive, damaging the main goal – the achievement of a sustainable result.

According to Zakharova, in general, both Yerevan and Baku highly appreciate the stabilizing role of Russia, the Russian peacekeeping contingent, which is deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh along the line of contact of the parties and the Lachin corridor.

“Thanks to our peacekeepers on the ground, the situation in the region has improved significantly and is relatively calm,” she said.

Zakharova stressed that individual incidents can be quickly resolved. According to her, the reason for their occurrence is an acute lack of trust in relations between Yerevan and Baku.

Maria Zakharova commented also on the statement by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who called on Russia to stop arming Armenia.

“Arms supplies abroad is Russia’s sovereign right. We read and hear a lot about this, but I would like to draw your attention: we have established appropriate interaction with both Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Zakharova said.

She stressed that the Russian side takes into account the need to maintain the balance of power in the region.

In an interview with CNN Turk, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev made another outrageous statement, accusing Russia of supplying arms to Armenia, its strategic ally.