Opposition MP says Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno Karabakh have mandate to use force

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. Opposition lawmaker and Secretary of the Hayastan faction of parliament Artsvik Minasyan says the Russian peacekeepers’ actions regarding the Azeri blockage of the Lachin Corridor are insufficient.

“I assess it as insufficient. Stronger measures are needed. They have a mandate to use force and this mandate comes from the imperative of ensuring fundamental human rights, and Russia has that mandate as a UN Security Council member, as a member of the OSCE Minsk Co-Chairmanship and after all as one of the most important guarantors of the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement. That mandate exists and it must be further strengthened, but Armenia’s official viewpoint must also help for strengthening that mandate,” Minasyan told reporters when asked to evaluate the Russian peacekeepers’ actions.