Moscow ‘ready to assist’ in Armenian-Azerbaijani border delimitation

Russia is ready to provide its consultative assistance to Armenia and Azerbaijan in initiating the planned border delimitation in an effort to promote a rapid conflict settlement through subsequent demarcation activities, a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry said today.

“We see the rapid start of the border delimitation between Armenia and Azerbaijan as a durable and lasting solution to be fostered through subsequent demarcation activities. We are ready to provide the necessary consultative assistance,” the news agency TASS quotes Maria Zakharova as telling a press briefing in Moscow.

The spokesperson said that the dialogues are underway on the level of both the foreign and defense agencies – as well as the border services – with the purpose of achieving a de-escalation.

According to Zakharova, Moscow ties the recently reported incidents along the Armenian-Azerbaijan border to an “absence of a specific legal wording” rather than the unresolved conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).

“The situation in the Russian peacekeeping contingent’s responsibility zone remains relatively stable, with the reported separate incidents being resolved through a joint collaboration between our Azerbaijani and Armenian partners,” she added.