At a briefing on November 22, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said there are no real results from the EU and US mediation on the issue of normalizing relations between Baku and Yerevan.

"Yerevan is eager to negotiate a peace treaty in Washington and Brussels, although neither the US nor the EU can be considered bona fide mediators for a number of reasons. Their actions are subordinated to the goal of ousting Russia from the South Caucasus," Zakharova noted. She added that the US and the EU want to destroy the security mechanisms existing in the region and, at the same time, "shamelessly literally steal and alter the trilateral agreements reached with the participation of Moscow to suit opportunistic considerations."

Moreover, the spokeswoman said that Moscow is working hard on a comprehensive normalization of relations between Baku and Yerevan based on trilateral agreements. She noted that the risk of relapse remains in the South Caucasus region. "In this regard, Russia is consistently working to transform the region into a zone of stability and prosperity based on the balance of interests of all countries in the region and their neighbors. In this logic, we build interaction within the 3+3 consultative regional platform. We are working on a comprehensive normalization of relations between Baku and Yerevan based on trilateral agreements at the highest level," Zakharova added. She noted that the West is seeking to turn the South Caucasus into an arena of geopolitical confrontation, ignoring the interests of the countries in the region: "They are doing nothing to ensure the security, stability, and prosperity of this region."

Zakharova disputed the claim that Armenia was forced to seek alternatives due to unanswered requests from Russia. She expressed skepticism about claims that Armenia is not leaving the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) but, rather, the opposite. According to Zakharova, such statements seem to attempt to shift responsibility and find others accountable for the decisions made in Yerevan, particularly in favor of deploying a European Union (EU) monitoring mission on Armenian territory.

“During the session of the CSTO Collective Security Council in which Armenia participated, there was a request from Armenia to withdraw the draft statement of foreign ministers supporting efforts to achieve peace in the South Caucasus region, which is also very telling. Russia and CSTO allies are still open to dialogue and ready to help, but Yerevan's wish is necessary [for that]. Let me note that the questions raised in the [aforesaid] interview arise for many people, including Armenian citizens. Sadly, the truthfulness of the answers did not turn out very well,” she noted.

Zakharova underscored Russia’s conviction that the CSTO will play a crucial role in maintaining regional stability under the present circumstances.

“A CSTO monitoring mission on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the decision about which is ‘on the table’ as before, would be quite a weighty factor in ensuring Armenia's security, unlike the [current] EU [monitoring] mission [in Armenia], which continues to demonstrate its ineffectiveness,” she added.

Furthermore, Zakharova also slammed the European Union Mission operating in Armenia: “The European Union (EU) mission has nothing to do with ensuring the security of Armenia and the South Caucasus region. This does not contribute to the normalization of Baku-Yerevan relations based on tripartite statements between the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, on the contrary, it leads to the opposite results.”

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