Speaking at the UN General Assembly on September 23, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the time has come for confidence-building measures between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, and Moscow's troops will help.

Lavrov accused the West of trying to force itself to act as a mediator between the two countries, saying it was unnecessary. "Yerevan and Baku have actually put the situation in order," the Russian foreign minister said. "The time has come to build mutual trust. There are Russian troops there that will definitely help," he noted.

For his part, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said that Azerbaijan had "achieved the goals of the anti-terrorist measures". "Armenia and its subordinate illegal regime were forced to agree to disarmament, liquidation of all so-called structures and withdrawal of troops from Azerbaijan," he said. The minister said that the reason why this did not happen peacefully was the negligence of Armenia and the failure of the mediators involved to take appropriate steps. Jeyhun Bayramov said that Azerbaijan has started practical steps for disarmament, demobilization and local reintegration in the region. He also said that the authorities have begun to implement humanitarian assistance measures and all efforts are being mobilized to meet the needs of the local civilian population. "In this regard, I would like to reiterate that Azerbaijan is determined to reintegrate the residents of Armenian origin living in the Karabakh region as citizens with equal rights. The Constitution of Azerbaijan and national legislation, as well as the international commitments we have accepted, create a solid basis for achieving this goal," he said.

The Minister noted that Azerbaijan is ready for genuine dialogue and negotiations with Armenia on the basis of equal rights and mutual respect for the legitimate interests of the two countries. "We still firmly believe in the existence of a historic opportunity for both Azerbaijan and Armenia to establish friendly neighborly relations and live peacefully as two sovereign states within internationally recognized borders," he noted.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said that Azerbaijan's "repeated aggression against the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia and military tactics against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh hinder peace and stability in the region and violate human rights and the rule of law."

"My government, which has a sincere belief and desire to establish peace and stability in our region, has made significant and deserved efforts for this purpose. After all, we do not have a partner for peace, we have a country that clearly declares the right to use force and constantly uses force to disrupt the peace process," he said. According to Mirzoyan, 30 percent of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh has been displaced and the entire population has been left without any means of livelihood, as humanitarian aid has been limited to the area. "There is no food, no medicine, no shelter, people are separated from their families, terrorized and fear for their lives," he said.

Ararat Mirzoyan said the international community should make every effort for the immediate deployment of the UN Interagency Mission in Nagorno-Karabakh to gain access and monitor the human rights, humanitarian and security situation. "UN agencies and other international organizations must have unhindered access to Nagorno-Karabakh in accordance with humanitarian principles," Mirzoyan noted.
He also stressed the need for an ongoing international mechanism to ensure dialogue between representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh and official Baku in order to prevent ethnic cleansing of the local population in Nagorno-Karabakh and to resolve issues related to the rights and security of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians.