Russia expects Lachin corridor to be unblocked soon

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The Russian foreign minister said on Wednesday that he expects the situation in the Lachin road, connecting Armenia to the Karabakh region, will be settled soon.

Azerbaijan provided data to the Russian military, showing that Armenia used the route to transport mines, which were used to mine the territory next to the Azerbaijani positions in violation of the peace agreements, Sergey Lavrov told a news conference on the 2022 Russian diplomacy results in Moscow.

While the Russian military is working on the information, Moscow made a proposal to entitle the Russian peacekeepers to monitor traffic along the corridor and check vehicles for the presence of prohibited items.

"Yesterday (Tuesday) or the day before yesterday, meetings between representatives of Azerbaijan and representatives of Karabakh with the participation of the commander of the Russian contingent took place. I think that the issue (of unblocking the Lachin corridor) will be settled in the near future," he said.

Lavrov warned Yerevan against the deployment of some "civil monitoring mission" on the border with Azerbaijan without Baku's consent.

"The Armenian side prefers to negotiate with the EU so that a civilian observer mission can be stationed there (in Karabakh) on a long-term basis. This is the border with Azerbaijan, so if this mission unfolds without the consent of Azerbaijan, it may simply be counterproductive. Instead of building trust at the border, it can create additional irritants," he said.

Lavrov added that Yerevan insisted on including a tough condemnation of Azerbaijan in a joint CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) statement, which, among other things, named terms of organizing a CSTO monitor mission.

"If we speak about expressing a position, everyone is free to do anything. But sending a CSTO mission should not be conditioned by making statements, especially tough ones," he said.

Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan had been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

In the fall of 2020, during 44 days of heavy fighting, Azerbaijan liberated a significant part of Karabakh and a Russian-brokered peace agreement was subsequently signed, considered a triumph in Baku.

- Situation in Syria and signing peace treaty with Japan

About the situation in Syria, Lavrov said agreements between Russia and Türkiye on Syria remain "actual," and that it is necessary to seek their implementation.

"We understand the concerns of our Turkish colleagues about this problem, we understand their irritation that the US wants to use the Kurds there (in Syria), firstly, to create a quasi-state in eastern Syria, and secondly, for these Kurds to fulfill Washington's instructions and create some kind of irritants in the region," he said.

Lavrov confirmed that Russia has not fulfilled all its obligations under the agreement on Syria with Türkiye, claiming that Ankara also has difficulties in implementing its part of the agreements, such as organizing joint patrols on the M4 highway.

About signing a peace treaty with Japan, which has not been signed since 1945, Lavrov said Moscow offered to Tokyo to sign the treaty first, stipulating the principles of mutual respect and good neighborliness, and then proceeding to the discussions of the territorial disputes.

According to Lavrov, Japan wanted to do vice versa, first to make Russia recognize Tokyo's sovereignty over the Kuril Islands and then sign a peace treaty.

At the 1945 Yalta Conference, the Soviet Union agreed to start military operations on the eastern front under an agreement with its western allies, and in exchange, received some Japanese territories, including the Kuril Islands.

However, with the start of the Cold War, the West encouraged Japan to reject the Soviet Union's sovereignty over the islands.

Due to the dispute, Russia and Japan have never signed a peace treaty and are technically still at war. As both sides claim the territories, the question of the Kurils' sovereignty remains uncertain.

Tokyo regularly protests visits of Russian officials to the islands.

Russian authorities fear the possible deployment of US missile systems on the islands if they are returned to Japan, creating a direct military threat to Russia.​​​​​​​