Russian MFA tells what will happen to peacekeepers in Artsakh

The presence of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Artsakh is relevant, and it will also be necessary in the future, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said in an interview with RBK.

According to him, first of all, “it is important to ensure that those residents of Karabakh who stayed there feel calm.”

“It cannot be ruled out that some of those who left Karabakh today will decide to return in the future. And the presence of peacekeepers will become an additional factor of calm for these people,” he said, noting that “the question of the peacekeepers’ further stay will be discussed and resolved by Moscow and Baku through established channels.”

He added that contacts between Baku and Stepanakert are being carried out through the mediation of peacekeepers. “And a number of complex issues related to further settlement in Karabakh is also being resolved between representatives of the Karabakh Armenians and the Azerbaijani authorities with the assistance of Russian peacekeepers,” Galuzin said.

Speaking about Yerevan’s accession to the Rome Statute, Galuzin noted that Moscow considers this an absolutely unfriendly step, and he does not see any room for discussion on this issue.

“We consider the accession of our ally Armenia to the Rome Statute <…> an absolutely unfriendly step. I don’t see any room for discussion here,” he said.