Deciding the date and place of signing the long-awaited peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia is the competence of those states, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
"At the same time, of course, we cannot look on indifferently at what is happening in the South Caucasus. Historically, Russia is one of the Caucasian states and, moreover, the only country in the region and the world that maintains allied relations with both Azerbaijan and Armenia. We are connected with the peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan by centuries-old ties of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance. This is an invaluable asset. We cherish it.
We proceed from the fact that the fate of the South Caucasus should be determined by those for whom it is a common home. No one from the outside will open the way to sustainable peace and stability in Transcaucasia. Betting on "miraculous" Western aid is illusory and dangerous. The examples of Serbian Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, the derailed Middle East settlement (which was actually monopolized by the United States), and Ukraine show firsthand what the interference of well-known "democratizers" and "conciliators" is fraught with," Galuzin said.
