YEREVAN, JANUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. At no point during the decades of negotiations was an issue of cutting off Armenia and Karabakh (Artsakh) from one another voiced, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a news conference when asked by an Azerbaijani news outlet “why Armenian officials are visiting Karabakh without Baku’s permission, and what is Moscow’s stance in this regard.”

“In all agreements, first of all in the [2020] November 9 statement, the sides’ consent is recorded on ensuring communication between Armenia and Karabakh through the Lachin corridor, which is under the control of the Russian peacekeepers. No one ever rejected Armenia’s communication with Karabakh. The issue of cutting off Armenia and Karabakh from one another was never voiced during the negotiations that continued for decades. And that is why the Lachin corridor, as a concept, was not rejected by anyone. And just like in the past, it is subject of consent of the sides, including the consent of our Azerbaijani neighbors. And just like this, a reliable and permanent communication will be established between the western regions of Azerbaijan and Nakhijevan. This is stipulated in the trilateral statement. If we agree – and everyone does agree – that a communication between the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia must exist, I do not see reasons for obstructing the contacts in that level,” Lavrov said.

Government officials of Armenia are involved in the process of providing humanitarian aid to Nagorno Karabakh, which doesn’t get any negative reaction from Azerbaijan, and according to Lavrov it would be strange if it were otherwise.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan