Moscow does not consider it correct to put the Geneva discussions and the format of the OSCE Minsk Group on the same level.

This was announced by Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, during the weekly briefing.  She addressed the question of why the West can hold a joint dialogue with Russia on Georgia within the framework of the October 5 Geneva discussions, while refusing to cooperate with Moscow on Karabakh within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group.

 “Being co-chairs of the Minsk Group, in February of this year, Washington and Paris refused to cooperate with Moscow under fictitious pretexts, “burying” the group as an international platform.  What can I add to this?  As for the Geneva international discussions on security and stability in Transcaucasia, the work on this platform is carried out under the auspices of the co-chairs representing the UN, OSCE and EU, and Washington is only one of the participants in the negotiations.  In this sense, we consider it wrong to put these two formats on the same level,” said Zakharova.

She also referred to the closure of the Stepanakert-Goris highway by a group of Azerbaijanis on December 3.

 “The issue of settlement of the incident that happened on December 3 was dealt with by the Russian peacekeeping troops, and together with the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides, it was possible to restore traffic through the Lachin Corridor,” she said.

 Regarding the statement of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that the peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed on the basis of Alma Ata’s declaration, Zakharova noted that there is nothing to add to Lavrov’s statement.  The spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry added that Moscow wants to see Yerevan’s official, unified position on the issue, only after that it will be possible to hold a discussion on the various nuances of the issue.