Moscow welcomes the holding of negotiations between the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia on the peace treaty in Almaty on May 10 and 11, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin stated in an interview with the News.ru platform.
According to him, another step has been taken in the direction of achieving reliable and long-term peace and stability in the South Caucasus. “We fully support Astana’s efforts in this direction,” the diplomat noted, adding that it is important that contacts in Almaty are at the highest level consistent with the 2020-2022 trilateral agreements, which determined the road map for normalization of relations between Baku and Yerevan.
Referring to the fact of the departure of Russian peacekeepers from Nagorno-Karabakh, Galuzin noted that the peacekeepers did the most important thing, which should not be forgotten - they brought peace and stability to the conflict region.
In the interview, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister again blamed the EU mission in Armenia, expressed the opinion that it has turned into a Western paramilitary operation with the involvement of NATO member states and with dubious purposes. “The mission carries out openly provocative activities, is fully engaged in anti-Russian propaganda, instilling false ideas in the Armenian society about the European Union as the "source of security and prosperity" of Armenia. Moreover, the activities of the EU are becoming increasingly anti-Azerbaijani and anti-Iranian,” Galuzin noted.
He emphasized that the key to the prosperity of the South Caucasus is the inclusive dialogue, particularly within the framework of the ‘3+3’ consultative regional platform. Answering the journalist's question about the so-called ‘Zangezur Corridor’, Galuzin emphasized that Moscow does not use the term ‘Zangezur Corridor’. “Russia is not a supporter of the creation of any specific route, but a supporter of the complete unblocking of economic and transport communications in the South Caucasus,” he said.
The Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation accused Yerevan of freezing the cooperation regarding the restoration of railway communication, stressing that Moscow considers it necessary to resume the full work of the tripartite working group as soon as possible.