Armenia, Azerbaijan could "soon" create border commission – Russia

PanARMENIAN.Net - A commission on the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan could be created "soon", Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

He recalled that the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed on November 26 to create a bilateral commission on the delimitation of the state border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, with advisory assistance from Russia.

“We presume that this will happen soon. We do not see any insurmountable obstacles to the implementation of this agreement at the highest level,” said the deputy head of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Rudenko noted that from the very beginning of the escalation of the situation on certain sections of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in May, Russia has been acting as a mediator, offering its assistance in launching the corresponding negotiation process.

According to the Deputy Minister, the incidents are not directly related to the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeepers. The problem was inherited from Soviet times and is due to the lack of proper international legal registration of the state border between the two countries.

Azerbaijani forces violated Armenia’s border in several sections in the provinces of Syunik and Gegharkunik on May 12 and 13 and are still refusing to withdraw their troops from the area. On November 16, the Azerbaijani side launched a fresh offensive in the province of Syunik, during which Armenian soldiers were killed and taken captive.