Russia says US, France failed as 'honest brokers' in Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman on Thursday said the US and France have failed to be "honest brokers" in the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement.

Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow, Maria Zakharova said recent remarks by the US and French officials, blaming Russia for the establishment of an Azerbaijani border checkpoint on the Lachin corridor, which links Armenia and Karabakh, show that their real motives in the South Caucasus are aimed at undermining Russia's position in the region.

"The US and EU representatives, in particular France, positioned themselves as "honest brokers" in the process of Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization. They seem to fail ... Attempts by French and American colleagues to convince that they are guided solely by the interests of achieving peace in the South Caucasus are disavowed by their regular anti-Russian attacks," she said.

The new checkpoint has been operational since Sunday on the Lachin-Khankendi road (Lachin corridor), a road Armenia has used to access the Karabakh region.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Karabakh, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

Most of the territory was liberated by Baku during a war in the fall of 2020, which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement and opened the door to normalization.