The Russian arms supplies to Armenia and Azerbaijan form a balance, and this keeps the region away from military escalation, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on the air of Echo of Moscow Russian radio station.

“When we [i.e. Russia] supply arms, we clearly know that there is a certain balance, and this balance is the deterrent for turning war into a major conflict,” he noted. “Once we leave there, once we stop being the technico-military partner of Armenia and Azerbaijan, guys that are more advanced in politics will appear there, [and] who will organize a real massacre.”

In his words, this could happen if attack weapons are supplied to these countries.

The Russian deputy PM expressed dissatisfaction with the “demagogy” over this matter, and which, in his words, rose after the exacerbation of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Imagine we stop technico-military cooperation in one of these countries,” Rogozin noted. “The Americans and NATO will appear there.”

He said it is becoming clear that the “frozen conflicts,” which periodically erupt, need to be resolved.

In his words, shots are fired every day at the Karabakh-Azerbaijan Line of Contact, and “apparently, this flare-up occurred due to this ordinary bloody routine.”  

Dmitry Rogozin added, however, that it is indispensable to return to the Karabakh peace talks.