Russia says will continue mediation for peace between Armenia, Azerbaijan

MOSCOW

Russia will continue its efforts to mediate a settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

“The Russian Federation continues and intends to continue its mediation efforts, primarily fulfilling the agreements that were reached on a trilateral basis,” Peskov said at a news briefing in Moscow.

He confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan about the situation in the Lachin corridor, a route connecting Armenia to the Caucasus territory of Karabakh.

“We are very concerned about the tension around the Lachin corridor,” said Peskov.

Pashinyan claimed earlier this week that Lachin has been out of Russian peacekeepers’ control for 20 days, saying Yerevan could raise the prospect of replacing the Russian peacekeeping mission with UN or Organization of Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) forces.

Azerbaijan has denied that nongovernmental organizations at the corridor protesting “illegal actions” by Armenia are hindering traffic along the route.

The two former Soviet states of Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a 44-day war in fall 2020 over Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

The war, which ended with a Russia-brokered peace deal, saw Azerbaijan liberate several cities and over 300 settlements and villages that had been occupied by Armenia for almost 30 years.

Putin, Xi talks

The Kremlin also confirmed that Putin will hold a video meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday.

The leaders will focus on bilateral relations and also discuss “acute regional problems” in areas close to Russia and China “in the spirit of a true strategic partnership,” said Peskov.