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No alternative to trilateral agreements on Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement — Kremlin

The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh escalated on September 27, 2020

MOSCOW, May 2. /TASS/. Any possible assistance in the settlement of the ongoing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is welcomed, but only based on the trilateral agreements concluded with Russia’s involvement as there are no alternatives to these agreements, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

"The resolution of existing problems between the two countries and the possible development of joint actions and steps aimed at reducing tensions in the region are possible only based on trilateral documents, which were signed together with Russia," Peskov told journalists.

"There is no other legal framework as of yet capable of facilitating a settlement [of the conflict]," he continued. "Therefore, there are no alternatives so far to these trilateral documents."

Commenting on the recent meetings between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia, Jeyhun Bayramov and Ararat Mirzoyan respectively, Peskov noted: "Of course, any assistance that could help the settlement on this basis could be welcomed."

"But we are also well aware that there were various attempts aimed at diluting the basis for this settlement, which may not work at all in the long run," Peskov stated.

The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh escalated on September 27, 2020. On November 9, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on the full cessation of hostilities. The sides stopped at their positions at that moment, a number of districts went under Baku’s control, and Russian peacekeepers were deployed to the contact line as well as to the Lachin Corridor.

US Department of State Spokesperson Matthew Miller announced over the weekend that Blinken held a telephone conversation with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to discuss the importance of reopening the Lachin Corridor for commercial and private vehicles.

Lachin Corridor

On December 12, 2022, a group of Azerbaijani activists claiming to be environmentalists blocked the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh and the place where Russian peacekeepers are temporarily stationed.

Baku stated that blocking the road was not the goal of the protest and civilian vehicles could freely move in both directions. However, Yerevan slammed the activity as a provocation by the Azerbaijani authorities aimed at creating a humanitarian disaster in the unrecognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan pointed out that Nagorno-Karabakh was facing food shortages due to the blocking of the corridor. On December 14, Armenia requested that the European Court of Human Rights compel Azerbaijan to unblock the Lachin Corridor.

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