"I cannot refuse you the right to your assessment" - Zakharova on  pro-Azerbaijani results of meeting in Moscow

ArmInfo. The process of reconciliation of two fraternal peoples for Russia - Armenia and  Azerbaijan should include, among other things, the humanitarian  sector. This was stated on July 26 during a weekly press conference  by official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria  Zakharova, to clarify how, in Moscow's opinion, the societies of  Armenia and Azerbaijan can be brought closer.

The diplomat noted that Russia is doing everything necessary for  this.

In this regard, she stated that, as indicated in the tripartite  statement of the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan dated  October 31, 2022, it is important to create a positive environment  for continuing dialogue between representatives of the expert  community, civil societies, religious leaders of Azerbaijan and  Armenia with Russian assistance, as well as launching trilateral  inter-parliamentary contacts in order to strengthen trust between the  peoples of the two countries.

"Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization is not going on simply, as we all  see and understand very well. But there is no alternative to peace.  The issues related to this were discussed, in particular, yesterday  at a trilateral meeting of the heads of the foreign affairs agencies  of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in Moscow. We hope that the  contacts mentioned will take place in the coming months," she said.   To clarify whether it was possible to reach any agreements on  unblocking Artsakh at yesterday's meeting in Moscow, Zakharova said  that yesterday this was fully commented on by Russian Foreign  Minister Sergei Lavrov, and she had nothing to add.

To the remark of an Armenian journalist that the agreements reached  yesterday in Moscow were even more pro-Azerbaijani than those in  Brussels., Zakharova only retorted: " I cannot refuse you the right  to your assessment. But, at the same time, I adhere our official  position, it was announced yesterday by the minister."

It should be noted that following the results of the trilateral  meeting in Moscow, Lavrov stated that the Armenian side has an  understanding of the need to convince the Armenians of  Nagorno-Karabakh in the earliest possible meetings with Azerbaijani  representatives to agree on the rights arising from the relevant  legislation and from international obligations (in this case,  Azerbaijani ones), including numerous conventions on ensuring the  rights of national minorities.

"The Azerbaijani side is ready to provide the same guarantees on a  reciprocal basis with regard to persons living on its territory. The  Armenians are ready to do the same with regard to the application of  all conventions to citizens living in the Republic of Armenia," he  said.

Thus, it turns out that today on the agenda of the  Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement not only there is no issue regarding  one of the three fundamental principles for the settlement of the  Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, namely the principle of the right of  peoples to self-determination, including the people of Artsakh, but  everything has come down to the problem of national minorities. That  is, the people of Artsakh are considered as national minorities  within Azerbaijan, and this is in conditions when even during the  Soviet period Nagorno-Karabakh had the status of an autonomous  region.