The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova held a weekly briefing, during which she also referred to the possible expansion of the Russian military base in Armenia and the deployment of Russian border guards in some parts of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.
“We are actively discussing regional security issues with the Armenian side in various dimensions, which are based on the numerous agreements and agreements formulated in bilateral and trilateral statements. As for the Russian military facilities, it is under the authority of the Ministry of Defense,” said Maria Zakharova.
According to her, the complex issues of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement were discussed in detail on July 7 in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenia’s Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
“The possibility of consistent implementation of the provisions of the November 9, 2020 and January 11, 2021 trilateral statements has been confirmed. We reaffirm that Russia is ready to make a significant contribution to ensuring a peaceful life in Nagorno-Karabakh, strengthening mutual trust between Yerevan and Baku, as well as neutralizing mutual tensions,” she said.
Zakharova stressed that during the meeting Nikol Pashinyan thanked the Russian President for his personal contribution to the return of 15 Armenian captives on July 3. He reminded that since December of last year, 97 prisoners of war have been returned through the mediation of the Russian side, 81 of which were to the Armenian side and 16 to the Azerbaijani side.
Maria Zakharova stressed that the issue of maps of minefields, which is a priority for Baku, has not been finally resolved. The position of the Russian side is known. According to Zakharova, Russia is in favor of a speedy settlement of the issue without preconditions.
Referring to the ceasefire regime, Zakharova noted, “The situation in the area under the control of Russian peacekeepers is relatively stable. Individual incidents are operatively settled in cooperation with Armenian-Azerbaijani partners. No provocations have been reported against Russian peacekeepers.”
