Lavrov believes that in the Lachin Corridor crisis, the US and the EU are only trying “to penetrate the region in order to harm the legitimate interests of the Russian Federation.” For his part, Lukashenko intends to present himself as the “noble father” of the CSTO, the Eurasian military alliance. Yerevan once again denounces the “ethnic cleansing” being carried out by Baku.
Minsk () – At the meeting of the CSTO – the Eurasian military alliance – that took place in Minsk in recent days, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said that Moscow is not against the intervention of other international mediators in the regulation process of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. However, he warned that “we must aim for agreements that reflect the balance of the interests of the Armenian and Azeri peoples, and the states that represent them.”
The head of Russian diplomacy also stated that he is not convinced of the sincerity of Westerners when it comes to helping the peace process in the Caucasus, and hopes that “both Baku and Yerevan are aware of this. Even – he said – we have talked candidly about it between us.” In his opinion, the US and the EU are actually only trying to “penetrate the region in order to harm the legitimate interests of the Russian Federation” and expand the borders of the zone of influence of NATO and the European Union. .
Potential international partners, according to Lavrov, should contribute to the signing of trilateral agreements between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia to unblock economic and communication flows between the two countries in conflict, and throughout the South Caucasus, based on the documents. that have already been discussed in previous meetings in Moscow.
For his part, Belarusian President Lukashenko maintained that “what Armenia is asking of the CSTO is well founded”, and answers must be given that are not merely formal, given the frequent criticism of the alliance for not intervening in the real solution of the problems. . He recalled that “Kyrgyzstan is also asking for help to resolve the conflict with Tajikistan, and we cannot continue to accuse each other without doing anything.”
Lukashenko wants to present himself as the “noble father” of the CSTO, which takes Armenia under its wing along with Russia when assessing military crises. He repeats that “there are always problems, even between Belarus and Russia, but you have to have the courage to take charge of the situation, however complicated it may be. Otherwise, we give way to Western ‘advisors’”. Armenia is waiting for a clear position from the CSTO since the meeting in November last year, when the Armenians denounced the Azerbaijani aggressions in September 2022.
Meanwhile, the Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan received a delegation headed by the chair of the European Parliament’s Security Committee, French Nathalie Loiseau, in Yerevan, whose objective is to highlight the close collaboration of the European institutions in support of the Armenian demands for reopening of the Lachin corridor. In her opinion, the humanitarian crisis in the border area continues to worsen, since for days they have not even allowed the passage of food products. For this reason, an international humanitarian mission is considered more opportune than ever to verify the situation in the area and also to help the transit of all the transport necessary for the survival of the Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh.
In addition, Pashinián affirms, Azerbaijan “continues with its aggressive rhetoric and with the practice of violating the ceasefire regime, fueling tensions throughout the region.” On the occasion of World Refugee Day, the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced Azerbaijan’s policy of “ethnic cleansing”, as a result of which “thousands of Armenians were forcibly removed from the Azerbaijani cities of Sumgait, Baku and Kirovabada , and also from the areas of the territory of Nagorno Karabagh that are under the control of the Azerbaijanis”.
