CSTO was totally ready to send an observation mission to Armenia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister says

True to their allied obligations, the CSTO members were totally ready to send an observation mission to Armenia, which, if deployed, would serve as a major stabilizing factor, facilitating the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told RBK.

“The Armenian and Azerbaijani sides should have initially complied with the agreement of November 2020. They should have delimited and demarcated borders,” he said.

Then, according to Galuzin, it would be clear who did what.

“As for the CSTO, true to their allied obligations, the CSTO members were totally ready to send an observation mission to Armenia, which, if deployed, would serve as a much more serious stabilizing factor in the region than the so-called EU observation mission invited by official Yerevan to its territory, which, according to our fairly reliable information, is only engaged in intelligence activities,” Galuzin stressed.

According to him, the existence of Russia’s special allied relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan largely determines the special role of Russia as a responsible mediator.

“In the autumn of 2020, it was thanks to Russia and its President Vladimir Putin that a ceasefire was reached, and then a peaceful resolution on a trilateral basis was proposed, and this September, it was the assistance of the Russian peacekeeping forces that ensured the cessation of hostilities and negotiations between representatives of the Karabakh Armenians and the Azerbaijani authorities on further solution to the situation.

So, I don’t see any contradiction here. And again, we are ready to continue our mediation role in full compliance with the trilateral agreement,” Galuzin concluded.