YEREVAN, OCTOBER 13, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia responded to the statement of French President Emmanuel Macron, in which he accused Russia of escalating the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan and destabilizing the situation in the region.

ARMENPRESS reports the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, stated that they consider Macron's statement that Russia is using the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to destabilize the South Caucasus absolutely unacceptable.

"Such attacks are consistent with the anti-Russian line of the West to portray Russia as a monster and speak of attempts to transfer the logic of confrontation from Ukraine to other post-Soviet territories, including the South Caucasus," Zakharova noted.

According to her, the statements of the French president indicate that Paris is not interested in establishing stable peace in the region, and that these statements cast doubt on France's ability to play a constructive role in the region.

According to Zakharova, unlike France, Russia practically contributed to the settlement of the conflict, recalling that the Russian Federation made a crucial contribution to the signing of the trilateral declaration of November 9, 2020.

"The Russian peacekeeping contingent continues to be the guarantor of the security of the region. Peacekeepers effectively prevent incidents in their area of responsibility, help establish a peaceful life, provide humanitarian aid, restore infrastructure. With their help, 53,000 refugees returned home, more than 2,000 victims' bodies were handed over, 146 prisoners were returned in total, more than 25,000 explosive objects were defused," Zakharova said.

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russia has started the work towards the comprehensive normalization of relations between Yerevan and Baku.

"Active efforts continue with the participation of Russia to promote the peace agenda, based on the statements of the leaders of the three countries on November 9, 2020, January 11, 2021 and November 26, 2021. In particular, steps are being taken in the direction of unblocking all economic and transport links in the South Caucasus, delimiting the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, signing a peace treaty, establishing a dialogue between societies and experts. The attempts of Paris to drive a wedge in Russia's relations with our friendly Armenia and Azerbaijan, with which Russia has long-standing and multifaceted ties, are doomed to failure and will only lead to further devaluation of France's reputation in the region," said Zakharova.