Official: Russia ready to accept negotiations on Azerbaijani-Armenian settlement

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin has said that Russia is always ready to accept negotiations on the Azerbaijani-Armenian settlement.

Galuzin added that Moscow expects Baku and Yerevan to take into account the relevance of the relevant proposal, TASS reports.

"Our proposals on holding peaceful negotiations on the peaceful settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the Moscow platform have an open character for our partners from Armenia and Azerbaijan. We very much hope that Yerevan and Baku remember this and understand it," the deputy minister said when asked whether a meeting of the foreign ministers of the three countries in Moscow is being worked out through diplomatic channels.

The expansion of the EU civilian observation mission in Armenia will not contribute to the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement and will only increase tension in the South Caucasus, Galuzin stressed.

"Its very appearance in Armenia is a completely useless step from the point of view of promoting the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement. We are convinced that the expansion of the EU mission will be absolutely useless and will not give any result in terms of promoting the Azerbaijani-Armenian settlement, the main principles of which were worked out in November 2020 by the top leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia and enshrined in several trilateral joint statements," the deputy minister said.

According to him, "the European Union does not bring anything new to Transcaucasia, it brings only additional tension and mistrust".
He added that the EU's policy in the South Caucasus is aimed "only at forcing Russia out of the region" while using Russian achievements in the process of peaceful settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Earlier, the EU foreign ministers decided to expand the size of their civilian mission in Armenia by 50 per cent - from 138 to 209 personnel, said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell during a press conference following the meeting of EU foreign ministers.

"Today, the EU Council has made the decision to reinforce our civilian mission in Armenia, elevating our presence on the ground from 138 to 209 individuals. This significant increase aims to enhance stability along Armenia's international border with Azerbaijan," he stated.

Previously, the EU also doubled the humanitarian aid package to 10.45 million euros and activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism in response to Armenia's request, with the aim of "tackling socio-economic needs and supporting food and fuel," as they assert. However, there is no proof whatsoever of where those funds go to meet Yerevan's needs.