‘No alternative’ to 2020 ceasefire deal between Azerbaijan, Armenia: Kremlin
Russia has voiced "serious concern" about escalating tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, calling on the two warring sides to adhere to a 2020 ceasefire agreement to end hostilities.
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said on Monday there was "no alternative" to the 2020 Russian-brokered agreement and Moscow was working with both Baku and Yerevan over the situation.
"Russia continues its mediation efforts, and mainly efforts to fulfill all the provisions of the trilateral documents that were signed two years earlier,” Peskov told reporters.
“Russia will continue to work on this with Yerevan and Baku. We continue contact, the situation is really difficult, it requires additional efforts, and most importantly, it requires the countries mentioned to understand that there is no alternative to the implementation of the mentioned agreements.”
The Kremlin spokesman made the call a day after Azerbaijan established a checkpoint at the start of the Lachin Corridor, the only road linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, in what Armenia termed as a "gross violation" of the 2020 ceasefire agreement.
Under the deal, Baku agreed at the time to "guarantee the security of persons, vehicles and cargo moving along the Lachin Corridor in both directions," with Yerevan saying the establishment of any checkpoints on the Hakari bridge in the Lachin corridor would be in breach of the affirmed-commitments.
MG
