Russian FM official urges Armenia, Azerbaijan to refrain from using force

Alexander Bikantov, Deputy Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Information and Press Department, has commented on the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. His statement was published on the official website of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

“We are seriously concerned about the recent armed incidents in different parts of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, which have resulted in human casualties. We express our condolences to the families of the victims, the injured and the wounded and wish them good health. Unfortunately, the situation at the border remains tense. We call on the parties to refrain from any actions that are fraught with further degradation of the situation, to resolve the issues through political and diplomatic means.”

The statement also says that Russia is ready to continue providing the necessary assistance for the settlement of the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border through de-escalation, joint launch of border delimitation and demarcation as soon as possible.

“We intend to work actively to turn Transcaucasia into a zone of stability, security and prosperity, in accordance with the trilateral statements of the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia on November 9, 2020 and January 11, 2021,” the statement goes on saying.