Armenia’s foreign ministry on Tuesday responded to accusations made by Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who said that Yerevan is “sabotaging” efforts to open trade routes in the region, especially Syunik.
In a statement issued Tuesday, foreign ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan said Lavrov’s accusation “calls into question the constructive engagement of the Russian Federation in the normalization process of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”
“Unfortunately, it is the Armenian leadership that is sabotaging the agreement signed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan when it comes to transit routes passing through the Syunik region of Armenia. It is difficult to understand the meaning of such a position. I am sure that the foundation laid within the framework of tripartite documents remains fully relevant,” Lavrov said in an interview with Russia’s Channel One.
Lavrov’s comments were part of a broader interview that aired on Russia’s Channel One, yet only the portion about Armenia was highlighted on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s official website to coincide with a visit by President Vladimir Putin of Russia to Azerbaijan on Monday.
“The false, clearly biased, often disrespectful comments of various officials of Russia’s Foreign Ministry regarding Armenia, unfortunately, are not new, and if you have noticed, it has been a while since we even reacted to them,” Badalyan said in her response to media inquires regarding Lavrov’s comments.
“However, we should say that yesterday’s statement by the Foreign Minister of Russia not only causes regret but also calls into question the constructive engagement of the Russian Federation in the normalization process of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Badalyan said.
“The Foreign Minister of the state that once undertook a mediator’s mission, signed the November 9, 2020 Statement and deployed a peacekeeping contingent in the region based on it, cannot fail to see that there is not a single key provision of that Statement that is not irrevocably violated, despite Russia’s signature under the document and its participation and responsibility in the processes envisaged by it,” the spokesperson emphasized.
“We also believe that the Foreign Minister of Russia is well aware that apart from public documents, Armenia is not a part of any other agreement and, therefore, cannot sabotage them,” emphasized Badalyan, essentially referencing only the November 9, 2020 agreement that ended the Artsakh War.
The Armenian foreign ministry spokesperson also referenced Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s so-called “Crossroads for Peace” platform, which Armenia hopes to use as a blueprint for opening transit roads in the region.
Badalyan said that project has already been “widely recognized among the international community,” referring to the positive response it has gotten by the European Union and the United States. She said the proposal “was also presented several times to the representatives of the Russian Federation.”
“We reaffirm that opening regional communications within its framework is possible literally at any moment,” Badalyan stressed.
“We call on our colleagues from the Foreign Ministry of Russia to refrain from sabotaging through biased statements neither the project nor the efforts to achieve peace in the South Caucasus,” Badalyan has said.
According to the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Yerevan “has repeatedly reaffirmed and continues to reiterate its commitment to the peace agenda and will do its part to successfully implement it.”
