Russia comments on Armenian PM's remarks about recognition of Azerbaijani territories

Russia considers Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s statement [about the recognition of Karabakh as Azerbaijani territory as a confirmation of the position he took during the summit in Prague on October 7, 2022.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova made the statement at a briefing on May 24, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

Pashinyan stated at a press conference on May 22 that the territory of Azerbaijan, which the Armenian leadership recognizes, includes both Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan's enclaves.

Zakharova recalled that a joint statement was adopted in Prague, containing a reference to the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1991, according to which the administrative borders between the former USSR  republics are recognised as interstate.

"As we have repeatedly said, the Prague agreement has given a qualitatively new framework to the negotiation process between Baku and Yerevan," Zakharova said.

She noted that Pashinyan’s recent statement caused an ambiguous reaction in Armenia itself.

Zakharova added that Russia is a mediator in the settlement and in this regard, "it is important to have a clear position of Armenia on Nagorno-Karabakh".

"This is not just a topic, not just a question, this is a conflict that lasted for many years. Mediation efforts are provided by international structures and regional countries. Of course, in order to move forward with the documents that have been signed, it is necessary to understand the clear position of the state on this matter," Zakharova said.

Such statements about the political vision of the state structure, according to the Russian official, are the prerogative of Armenia and its people.

When asked about Pashinyan's statement that "if Armenia de jure decides to withdraw from the CSTO, it will happen as a result of fixing the fact that the CSTO has withdrawn from Armenia," she said: "If this is a figure of speech to lobby for Armenia's withdrawal from the CSTO, it seems to me that we still need to understand the danger of manipulating words." "How the CSTO can withdraw from Armenia is not entirely clear," Zakharova said.

She noted that Russia does not fully comprehend what Pashinyan's words mean.

In response to Pashinyan's criticism of the CSTO, Zakharova said that Russia considers the activities of the CSTO highly effective.

However, each country has its own rights and opportunities to evaluate the activities of the structure.

Asked whether Russia is considering a scenario in which it will be asked to leave a military base in Armenia, Zakharova said: "We use tools to calm the situation on the ground and in political terms, negotiations are underway at all levels, meetings of the Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers were held in Moscow, these contacts continue."

According to her, this is the focus of their work in a variety of areas and agencies, given the presence of Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh.

The same can be said about the CSTO, according to Zakharova.