South-Caucasus states, neighboring partner-states must decide on region`s future - Maria Zakharova

ArmInfo. The importance of  active preparation for the conclusion of a peace treaty between  Armenia and Azerbaijan in order to achieve sustainable and long-term  peace in the region was especially emphasized in the statement of the  leaders of the Russian Federation, Azerbaijan and Armenia dated  October 31, 2022. 

This was stated on July 24 during a weekly briefing by the official  representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova in  response to a request to comment on the words of Azerbaijani  President Ilham Aliyev that the peace agreement between Yerevan and  Baku has been agreed upon by 80-90%. According to her, the leaders of  the three countries also agreed to continue the search for mutually  acceptable solutions based on existing developments. "The Russian  Federation has undertaken to continue to provide this in every  possible way," Zakharova quoted the document. In this vein, she noted  that Moscow's approach is not only stable, but it is also recorded in  the document signed by Russia.

"Of course, the volumes and forms of such assistance should be  acceptable to each of the negotiating parties. In line with the  agreements reached, Moscow has repeatedly hosted rounds of Armenian-  Azerbaijani negotiations on the draft peace treaty. We are ready to  do so in the future. We guarantee the most comfortable conditions for  the work of both delegations in their preferred bilateral format,"  she said. 

At the same time, the Russian diplomat welcomed the efforts of her  Kazakh partners in this direction. "We also consider the conclusion  of a balanced peace treaty between our two allies as an indispensable  prerequisite for building an architecture of indivisible security and  sustainable socio-economic development in the region. We hope that  the parties will quickly overcome the remaining disagreements and  successfully advance in other areas of normalization of  Armenian-Azerbaijani relations in line with bilateral agreements at  the highest level. The fate and future of the South Caucasus should  be determined exclusively by the countries of the region and  neighboring partner states. And no one from outside will definitely  bring peace and prosperity to our common home. This has already been  proven for centuries," Zakharova concluded.

At the end of last week, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, speaking  at a media forum in occupied Shushi, said that the peace agreement  between Yerevan and Baku had been agreed upon by 80-90%. He also  added that concluding an agreement without changing the Constitution  of Armenia is impossible.