Negotiations on S. Caucasus communication blockade fall outside Alen Simonyan’s authority - Russian MFA
Maria Zakharova, Spokesperson for Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, refused to comment on statements made by Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan regarding the country's position on returning to a trilateral format with Azerbaijan and Russia for the unblocking of transport communications, Azernews reports.
"I would like to remind you that the responsibility for addressing the issue of unblocking transport communications in the South Caucasus has been assigned to the deputy prime ministers overseeing this matter. In Armenia, this issue is handled not by the state official you mentioned, but by another one. Therefore, perhaps you should inquire with Yerevan to see if they have swapped roles in implementing this agenda. If not, then it might be more appropriate to address the person responsible for this matter.
You know, I don't even want to comment on the statement of a specific individual, as we consider it outside their area of responsibility—not from our own assessment, but based on the evaluation and directives of the Armenian leadership," she said.
She further explained that a special trilateral working group had been created to address the unblocking of transport and economic links in the South Caucasus, in accordance with high-level trilateral agreements.
"A great deal of work has been done within this framework to agree on both the legal foundations and the technical parameters for establishing transport routes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, based on the principles of reciprocity and sovereignty.
Yes, we recognize the disruptive influence of Western countries, and we also see that the positions of the Armenian authorities, at times—and often more frequently—raise concerns for us. These two factors have stalled cooperation within the group. We have repeatedly commented on this issue, and it is not new. We are confident that the swift resumption of full cooperation within the mentioned group will not only contribute to restoring the transport and logistics system of the South Caucasus but also integrate it into broader transportation schemes from Europe to Asia and vice versa. This will ensure further socio-economic development for Armenia and the entire region," she added.
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