On 17 May, the commander of the Russian peacekeeping force in Nagorno-Karabakh Rustam Muradov mediated the talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan regarding the border tensions in Syunik (Caucasus Watch reported).  

According to the Armenian media, the Azerbaijani troops are to withdraw from the territory. “According to preliminary information, the Azerbaijani troops should go back, the tension should subside, then they could set up their military posts. But the posts will not be near our settlements,” stated the head of the village of Verin Akner Spartak Minasyan. 

The information about the completion of the talks was also confirmed by the parliamentarian from the Prosperous Armenia opposition party Naira Zohrabyan. “The five-day talks have ended. As I was informed by people in Syunik, the outcome of the negotiations is positive for us, and tomorrow the Azerbaijani troops must leave the territory of Armenia,” she wrote on her Facebook page. Later, she removed the post.

Armenia’s acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, on the other hand, stated that the military-political situation remains unchanged. He said some groups left but it has not changed the situation. “What does this mean? This means that we must continue to operate the mechanisms of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO); we must continue to set in action the Armenian-Russian mechanisms of allied partnership. Our position is clear, namely that Azeri troops must leave the territory of the Republic of Armenia,” Pashinyan stated. He also stressed that despite his calls not to make the created situation subject of domestic political speculations, there are forces which abide by a pro-Azerbaijani stance.

Pashinyan also spoke on the statements of Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev in Nakhchivan (Caucasus Watch reported) on the creation of the Zangezur corridor, saying that Armenia would not consider the establishment of such a corridor.  “I think it is very important to emphasise that here, too, the well-known political circles are acting as Azerbaijani agents. I want to emphasise that the Republic of Armenia has never discussed and will not consider the issue of establishing such a corridor. The discussions we have had are public; they are reflected in the official information related to the activities of the tripartite working group on the 11 January 2021 joint statement,” Pashinyan stressed. He added that the opening of regional communications is on Armenia's political agenda, but it can in no way have anything to do with the “corridor” propaganda, which is being propagated by specific political circles in Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev stated that currently the process of demarcation of the border is underway, and the Armenian side demonstrates inadequate reaction to this process. The spokesperson Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Leyla Abdullayeva said that Armenia was the party who violated internationally recognised borders of Azerbaijan. “First of all, I want to emphasise that the root cause of border problems is the illegal occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan by Armenia until November 2020. It is Armenia that violates the internationally recognised borders of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is only restoring its internationally recognised borders,” she stated. “As our official statements already pointed out, in connection with the improvement of weather conditions in the liberated districts of Azerbaijan bordering with Armenia, Azerbaijan continues to strengthen the system of border protection, carried out within the framework of its territorial integrity. This process is carried out based on maps defining the borderline between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which both sides have,” she added.

The spokesperson of Russia’s President Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was in constant contact with Baku and Yerevan to peacefully resolve the issue. Asked whether Russia’s President Vladimir Putin received a letter from Pashinyan in which the Armenian acting Prime Minister requested military assistance from Russia, Peskov said, “I cannot tell you clearly, but all the issues have many times been discussed during bilateral contacts.” 

“Moscow is ready to assist Yerevan and Baku in demarcating the border. Not a single shot was fired, no skirmishes took place there. The parties sat down and calmly began to agree on how to resolve this situation. We provided assistance, and an agreement was reached,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference, the Russian bureau of Report informs. “I see no reason to whip up emotions in such a calmly settled issue,” he added.

Two days earlier the spokesperson of the US State Department Jalina Porter urged Azerbaijan to immediately withdraw its troops from Armenia’s border areas. The French President Emmanuel Macron even stated that he is considering taking the issue to the United Nations Security Council and that with a UN mandate France was also prepared to provide, if necessary, military support to international efforts to resolve this issue.