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Armenia–Azerbaijan conflict

Russia notes attempts to skew details of Nagorno-Karabakh agreement — diplomat

The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said the reserved reaction by Western countries is surprising

© Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS

MOSCOW, November 19. /TASS/. Russia has noticed attempts to distort or omit the details related to the implementation of the Nagorno-Karabakh agreement signed by Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during Thursday’s briefing.

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"We have noticed attempts to omit or distort information related to the implementation of the trilateral agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh regulation," she said.

She also noted that the reserved reaction to the agreement by Western countries is surprising. "We witness a reserved reaction, to say the least, to this statement, which led to the implementation of concrete provisions stipulated in it," the spokeswoman said. "Why so? A month or a month-and-a-half ago, everyone wanted a ceasefire, everyone was waiting for it. And now the ceasefire has been established and is being maintained. We do not see a full-fledged reaction that the West is capable of: as we know, when they choose to react on a broad front, you can learn about and hear it anywhere."

Zakharova pointed out that the agreement had not been met with excitement, adding that there was no "desire to welcome and comment on the statement, encourage the sides to implement it and note Russia’s role as a mediator." "In many official statements made by foreign ministries of Western states, Russia’s role is not mentioned at all, as if the statement were bilateral. It is not even mentioned that the statement is trilateral. It is surprising, but it’s the way it is. As if the positive and constructive role of our country should not be represented in international affairs in any shape or form," the diplomat stressed.

On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting from November 10. The Russian leader said the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides would maintain the positions that they had held and Russian peacekeepers would be deployed to the region. Besides, Baku and Yerevan must exchange prisoners and the bodies of those killed.

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