In an interview with Dmitry Kiselyov, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke about Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, the September micro-war, and the Karabakh settlement process. Lavrov, in particular, stated, “When Armenia and Azerbaijan continue to look for ways to calm the situation in the Caucasus, the CSTO is also ready to help. And when there was an increase in violence after the events of September, about 300 people were killed on both sides, we received the request of Armenia, and the CSTO General Council with experts went to Armenia and brought a plan for the deployment of the CSTO mission on the Armenian border. That plan existed for a long time, but the Armenian side did not rush us, and already in Yerevan, within the CSTO conference, that package was ready. Still, the Armenian side refused, stating that they needed that decision if Azerbaijan’s actions were condemned in that document. Not everyone was prepared to agree to it, and not to support one or to protect the other, but because the entire Karabakh history is a history of decades when Armenia occupied seven regions of Azerbaijan for tens of years. Then the former authorities of RA refused the mediation of the Russian Federation, wanting to keep the occupied territories, which did not belong to them.
Yes, Azerbaijan returned the lands belonging to it. Armenia and Azerbaijan have signed a document with the EU that they are ready to conclude a peace agreement according to the Alma-Ata document, whose borders will cross the boundaries of the USSR. The situation here is multi-layered. The fact that the CSTO has prepared a document is a crucial step forward, and if the parties are interested, that mission can be implemented in 2-3 days.”
