MOSCOW, October 10. /TASS/. The Russian peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh is ready to contribute to restoring peaceful life in the now-self-dissolved South Caucasian republic, while the United States and the European Union have been sowing instability there, said Russia’s top diplomat Sergey Lavrov.

"While fostering its geopolitical ambitions, Brussels is imposing its `services as a mediator’ on Azerbaijan and Armenia, causing instability in South Caucasus jointly with Washington," Lavrov said in his article entitled "Respecting the Principles of the UN Charter as the Key to International Peace and Stability." "Now that the leaders of Yerevan and Baku have agreed to mutually recognize each other’s sovereignty, the time has come to restore peaceful life <…>. The Russian peacekeeping mission is ready to make every contribution to that," he added.

On September 19, tensions flared up again in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR). Baku announced it was launching what it described as "local anti-terrorist measures" and demanded the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the region. Yerevan, in turn, said there were no Armenian forces in Karabakh, calling what was happening "an act of large-scale aggression." Russia called upon the parties to the conflict to stop the bloodshed and go back to trying to settle the Karabakh issue diplomatically. On September 20, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said that an agreement had been reached with the participation of the Russian peacekeeping contingent to suspend anti-terrorist measures in Karabakh.

On September 28, NKR President Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree dissolving the unrecognized state effective January 1, 2024.