MOSCOW, December 30. /TASS/. Russia is concerned over the lack of progress in the situation around the Lachin corridor and continues to take steps to settle it, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday.
"We express concern over the lack of progress in restoring the full-functioning of the Lachin corridor for the movement of people, transport vehicles and cargo in both directions in accordance with the statement of the Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders of November 9, 2020. The Russian side, in particular, the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, continues to take steps to settle this situation," she stressed.
She noted that the Russian peacekeepers are making a key contribution to maintaining security in their zone of responsibility, which was noted by the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia at their summit in Sochi on October 31. "We consider any public attacks on or provocations against our peacekeepers as unacceptable and deliberate actions doing visible harm to the process of Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization," she said.
"We call on Baku and Yerevan to strictly observe all the provisions of the statement of the Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders of November 9, 2020," Zakharova said. "We stress that the Lachin corridor should be used only for the purposes set forth in this document. We hope that the sides will reach an agreement on the development of ore deposits in the region."
According to Zakharova, Russia calls for "all-round implementation of the entire package of top-level trilateral agreements geared toward unblocking transport and economic ties in the region, delimiting the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, drafting a peace treaty between Baku and Yerevan, and establishing lines of communication between the public figures, experts and lawmakers of the two countries.".