On 18 June, the spokesperson of Russia’s President Dmitry Peskov commented on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s statement on the possible establishment of a Turkish military base in Azerbaijan.
“The deployment of military infrastructure by the [NATO] alliance countries near our borders is cause for our special attention as well as a reason for us to take steps to ensure our security and interests,” he stated. Peskov also said Russia is “in close contact” with Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia on “further stabilising the situation” in the South Caucasus after the Second Karabakh war. He emphasised that “regional players must not take actions containing any elements that could cause a rise in tensions.” The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also commented on the issue, by dismissing it as rumours.
The spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova commented on the Shusha declaration which was signed between Azerbaijan and Turkey (Caucasus Watch reported). “We do not consider it correct to mix any topics concerning Nagorno-Karabakh proper with Azerbaijan’s (or Armenia’s) bilateral relations with third countries. This is how we view the most recent Azerbaijani-Turkish contacts at the highest level. We strongly believe that bilateral ties in the region, including defence contacts, should not be aimed against any other states. We strongly support any steps focused on normalising the dialogue between Baku and Yerevan, and between Yerevan and Ankara. International contacts in the South Caucasus should be based on neighbourly principles and should take into account a balance of interests of all the countries in the region,” she stressed.
Zakharova also said that the border tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan were at a decline thanks to Russia’s efforts. “In our opinion, a sustainable and lasting solution to the problem depends on launching, as soon as possible, the delimitation and subsequent demarcation of the border between the two states. We reaffirm our readiness to give every possible assistance to this process,” she added.
The MFA spokesperson also commented on Azerbaijan’s court proceedings against some of the Armenian prisoners of war. “The subject of prisoners of war and other detainees remains relevant, [included] in the context of implementing the provisions of the statement adopted by the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia on 9 November 2020. We welcome the 12 June transfer of 15 Armenian citizens by the Azerbaijani side to Yerevan. We insist on the completion of the “all for all” prisoner exchange without any preconditions. At the same time, we believe it is important to solve other humanitarian problems, in particular when it comes to demining and provision of maps of minefields. I think you are aware of our efforts on this track,” she responded.
Armenia’s MFA also responded to Erdogan’s visit to the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh, calling his statements hypocritical and misleading. “The declaration signed by the Presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan in Shusha, as well as the remarks made by the President of Turkey in the Parliament of Azerbaijan are equally deplorable and provocative. Although one of the provisions of the Turkish-Azerbaijani declaration states that the document is not directed against a third party, its entire content, nevertheless, targets the Armenian people,” the statement underscored. “It is noteworthy that this declaration is based not on the UN Charter or the comprehensive and indivisible concept of security of the OSCE, but on their approach of "kinship security,” which is promoted as the principle of unification of the Turkic world,” it added.
The Azerbaijani MFA responded to this statement, by saying that it was hypocritical of Armenia to talk about international law. “By rejecting the regional cooperation platform proposed by the leaders of Azerbaijan and Turkey and presenting it as “threat to the Armenian people” and “threat to the region,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry clearly demonstrates how far Armenia is from peace, cooperation and development,” the statement read.
