Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Thursday that Moscow will continue to seek to mediate a settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan amid ongoing tensions between the two main rivals.
“The Russian Federation continues and intends to continue its mediation efforts, primarily by fulfilling the agreements that were reached on a trilateral basis,” Peskov said at a briefing in Moscow.
He confirmed that Russian President Putin spoke with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan about the situation in the Lachin Corridor, a route connecting Armenia with the Caucasian territory of Karabakh.
“We are very concerned about the tension around the Lachin corridor,” Peskov said.
Earlier this week, Pashinyan said Lachin had been out of control of Russian peacekeepers for 20 days, saying Yerevan could raise the issue of replacing the Russian peacekeeping mission with UN or Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) forces.
Azerbaijan denies that non-governmental organizations in the corridor, protesting against the “illegal actions” of Armenia, are obstructing traffic along the route.
In the fall of 2020, two former Soviet states, Armenia and Azerbaijan, fought a 44-day war over Karabakh, an area internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
During the war, which ended with a peace agreement mediated by Russia, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and more than 300 towns and villages that had been occupied by Armenia for almost 30 years.
Putin and Xi are talking
The Kremlin also confirmed that Putin would hold a video meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday.
The leaders will focus on bilateral relations as well as discuss “acute regional issues” in areas close to Russia and China “in the spirit of a true strategic partnership,” Peskov said.