In the briefing held on August 2, Maria Zakharova, the representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sharply criticized the statement of Nikol Pashinyan, the Prime Minister of Armenia, about the lack of mediation efforts between Yerevan and Baku.

Zakharova said Russia's efforts to regulate relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia quickly had never decreased. "We have been and continue to be interested in advancing the process of normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations. We are doing everything necessary to achieve solid peace and agreement in the region," she added. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative reminded that in the last one or two months, there were high-level contacts between the parties organized and initiated by Moscow.

According to her, the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia met in Moscow on May 26, and from July 19 to 25, foreign ministers held talks in the Russian capital. The representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the main participants of the regulation are Armenia and Azerbaijan, and they should consistently implement the existing agreements, while the role of Moscow is mediation.

Regarding Pashinyan's criticism of Russian peacekeepers, Zakharova said: "After the Armenian leadership recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijan's territory, some comments about Russia's lack of efforts are inappropriate. Completely incomprehensible ideas are being put forward about the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers from Karabakh. Is this Mr. Pashinyan's wish?”

Zakharova further said that Russian peacekeepers perform essential functions. "It is about exchanging prisoners, clearing mines, managing incidents, and providing humanitarian aid," she added. Zakharova expressed her surprise at the opinion of the Armenian leadership that such action is unnecessary: "Unfortunately, we often witness the representatives of the Armenian leadership taking double-standard positions on several key issues. Word games never bring good results."