Moscow "sees" EU attempts to intervene in Armenia-Azerbaijan talks

PanARMENIAN.Net - Moscow says the European Union of intervening in the process of implementing provisions of agreements it has reached with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan following the Second Karabakh War.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, President of the European Council Charles Michel and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held their third meeting since December in Brussels on May 22 and focused on the situation in the South Caucasus and the development of EU relations with both countries as well as the broader region. According to a statement from the EU, Michel told the two leaders that it was necessary that the rights and security of the ethnic Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) be addressed.

“We are see persistent attempts by the EU to intervene in the process of trilateral agreements at the highest level,” Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Wednesday, May 25. “We expect that Brussels will help implement them if it wants to, and not play geopolitical games, but we do not want this.”

Zakharova noted that Russia’s goal is to turn the South Caucasus region into a “zone of stability and prosperity, to promote this process.”

“One of the key tasks on this path is the comprehensive normalization of relations between Yerevan and Baku to establish a lasting peace. The basis of efforts in this direction is the trilateral agreements of the leaders, which we have repeatedly spoken about and which are being consistently implemented,” said the diplomat, according to Asbarez.

“Russia is assisting Yerevan and Baku on all tracks, including unblocking transport communications, border delimitation, establishing public relations, and developing a peace treaty."

Similar concerns were voiced by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last month when he accused the EU and the United States of encroaching on its efforts to stabilize the region.

Zakharova announced a team of Russian experts has been brought together to work with Armenia and Azerbaijan on the delimitation and demarcation of the border. It was also announced on Wednesday that a second meeting of the commissions formed by both countries will meet in Moscow next week.

“Russia has a unique experise in the field of delimitation and settlement of border disputes in the post-Soviet space,” Zakharova said. “We have the necessary cartographic materials at our disposal, and we will be happy to share our materials and developments with our Armenian and Azerbaijani allies within the framework of the commission’s activities.”