Category: 2021

Russia does not seek an exclusive right to communicate with Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement marking the anniversary of the trilateral statement signed by the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan on November 9, 2020, TASS reports.

“Russia is not claiming a monopoly in communication with Armenia and Azerbaijan although we have bonds of longstanding and close friendship and a large-scale partnership on all azimuths with those countries and peoples,” the statement says. “We stand for effective use of the international community’s current potential with adequate account of the changed regional realities.”

The Foreign Ministry pointed out that a year after the trilateral statement the information on social networks and online resources claiming that “Russia’s peacekeeping efforts were allegedly aimed at ‘breaking Nagorno-Karabakh away,’ ‘handing it over’ to Azerbaijan, and turning Armenia into a ‘protectorate’ can be safely refuted.”

“These statements are populist, are obviously ordered from the outside and have nothing to do with reality,” the Foreign Ministry noted.

The ministry emphasized that the Moscow-initiated trilateral agreements and mechanisms “were not imposed on the sides, but were based on a verified balance of interests and included a very respectful attitude to the sovereignty and interests of Baku and Yerevan.”

“Some of our initiatives could not be agreed upon, and that is normal. On the other hand, the agreement that has already been confirmed is, as they say, hard-won and effectively implemented in practice,” the Foreign Ministry stressed.

The Prime Minister welcomed Mr. Overchuk’s visit to Armenia, noting that it is a good opportunity to discuss the current agenda. “I would like to note that I highly appreciate the works of the trilateral working commission chaired by the Deputy Prime Ministers of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. I hope that we will finally be able to reach concrete solutions,” he said.

The Prime Minister said Armenia is committed to the statements of November 9 and January 11, which refer to the unblocking of all transport and economic ties in the region, but emphasized that “the statements made by Azerbaijan regarding the corridors have a negative impact on the efficiency of our work and atmosphere, especially considering that in our trilateral statements there are no remarks about corridors.”

“My impression is that Azerbaijan is trying to impose its perceptions on the commission, which, of course, is unacceptable for us. I would like to reaffirm that Armenia is interested in opening and unblocking regional transport and economic infrastructure. I have repeatedly stated publicly that we are ready for concrete solutions, the essence of which should be the following. Armenia should get road and railway communication routes through Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan should receive railway and road communication routes through Armenia, including one connecting Azerbaijan to the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic,” PM Pashinyan said.

“Our documents are about the unblocking of economic and transport infrastructures, our position is the following. What do we offer? The railways that existed during the Soviet era must be restored; the highways that existed during the Soviet era, including those connecting the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic with Azerbaijan, must also be restored,” he added.

“We are ready for such solutions. We have concrete proposals, it should be emphasized that according to the January 11 statement, about which we have talked many times, we should also negotiate on customs control, phytosanitary control, border control and other possible types of control. This is what is stated in our statements of November 9, 2020 and January 11, 2021. I want to confirm once again that Armenia is interested, ready, and we hope that in the near future we will be able to reach concrete solutions to these issues. We are constructive,” Prime Minister Pashinyan said.

Alexei Overchuk thanked the Prime Minister for the meeting and for highly appreciating the activities of the working group co-chaired by the Deputy Prime Ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation.

“We are really working within the mandate that you, together with the leaders of the other countries, granted us in the framework of the statements of November 9-10, 2020 and January 11, 2021. I would like to note that we keep in constant touch with our partners and deputy prime ministers. We have held 8 meetings, 4 of which were in-person, the other four were held remotely,” the Russian Deputy PM said.

“At the same time, we talk on the phone almost every day, discussing various options to find more optimal, more acceptable solutions for all parties. You know that road construction experts have examined the roads. Today we have a very good understanding of what those roads really look like. Based on these data, after the 8th session of the joint working group held on October 22, it seems to us that we will reach concrete solutions. They are based primarily on that the roads remain under the jurisdiction of the countries through which they pass,” he said.

“You also mentioned and it is enshrined in the statements that all kinds of controls should be carried out. We agreed that such control should be exercised based on the parity principle, and we also discussed it, including how and from where to start unblocking automotive infrastructure. We want to discuss it with you today and think about how to move forward,” Alexei Overchuk said.