In the latest sign of friction between allies Moscow and Yerevan over the conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, Moscow blamed Armenia on Thursday for a breakdown in peace talks with Azerbaijan.
In a statement on Thursday, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova pointed out that it’s difficult to assess Yerevan’s position when their official statements differ so significantly, blaming it for canceling peace talks between the two sides.
According to her, Armenia prevented Moscow from discussing the peace treaty with its decision to pull out of peace talks scheduled last December in Moscow.
Urging Yerevan to come back to the negotiating table, Zakharova said that if Armenia is really interested in solving the problems, it is necessary to continue working together instead of engaging in scholasticism.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, on the other side, pointed out on Tuesday that Yerevan is ready to sign the peace agreement and do everything that depends on Armenia, but that Azerbaijan still hasn’t sent any response to Armenian proposals regarding the peace agreement.
Speaking at a news conference, Pashinyan added that the only issue isn’t just inking the agreement, but also its further implementation, recalling that the agreements as of November 9, 2020, are not yet implemented.
Yerevan and Baku have been engaged in talks to broker a peace deal over Nagorno-Karabakh, the breakaway enclave that is home to a mainly Armenian population although it’s internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
Commenting on some reports in the Western media suggesting Baku could attack Yerevan’s forces at some point in the future, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev stressed on Tuesday that Azerbaijan has no plans of engaging in another military conflict with neighboring Armenia.
Calling all the rumors “fake,” Aliyev insisted that despite the tensions that have been running high between the two nations high over Nagorno-Karabakh, Baku has no intention of starting a third war against Armenia, pointing out that anyone that’s accusing it of harboring such intentions is waging a “dirty and slanderous campaign” against Baku.
The situation got more complicated after Azeri environmental activists blocked transport along the only road linking Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, in what Yerevan has called a government-endorsed blockade, to protest the alleged illegal Armenian mining.
Baku denies that the region is under blockade and argues that protesters have legitimate concerns with the Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry noting that the observed looting of natural resources and illegal exploitation were especially evident in the Demirli copper-molybdenum and Kyzylbulag gold mines.
