The escalation of the standoff at the Lachin Corridor, which Azerbaijanis have been blockading for 15 days, is complicating efforts to advance the signing of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said on Monday.
“There is no doubt that incidents such as the current escalation around the Lachin Corridor can’t are complicating efforts for negotiations, including around the peace treaty,” Galuzin told the TASS news agency. “The Russian side is taking active steps to resolve the situation on the ground. We expect that joint work in all directions of the Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization will resume swiftly.”
Galuzin said what matters is that the two countries achieve a mutually-acceptable solution regardless of timeframes of agreeing to the document.
“We believe that in this case the timeframe of agreeing on a document is not that important. What’s important is that Baku and Yerevan be able to reach a mutually-acceptable solution that would guarantee sustainable and just peace in the region,” Galuzin said, adding that Russia is ready to support the negotiation process as stipulated in the October 31, 2022 trilateral statement between the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in Sochi.
At the start of an informal summit of CIS leaders being held in St. Petersburg on Monday, President Vladimir Putin of Russia lamented that disagreement continued to remain between CIS member-states, adding that despite this reality the CIS countries have been able to be productive in 2022.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s defense minister Hulsu Akar complained on Monday that certain countries have made “one-sided” statements regarding the Armenia-Azerbaijan situation.
“We didn’t hear from these countries or international organizations when they had assumed the responsibility for the Karabakh conflict during the last 30 years when the conflict was ongoing,” Akar told reporters on Monday when visiting the Syrian border.
