Russia is of double importance in this conflict: as a party to the trilateral statement of November 9, as the only international representation in Artsakh, and as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Karabakh ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan said during a protest outside the Russian embassy in Armenia on Thursday.

"Probably no member of the international community knows the situation in Artsakh like Russia does, because 2000 Russian peacekeepers in NKR see daily how Azerbaijan violates rights of 120.000 people living in Karabakh. These violations are documented in the reports published by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

"Russia also sees that Azerbaijanis, especially from February to March of this year, carry out actions to discredit the peacekeepers. They aim at paving the way for the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers from Artsakh after 2025, so that the Armenian people will be left without security guarantees.

"We think that Russia should pacify with its actions the Azerbaijanis, who are obliged to fulfill the provisions of the trilateral statement. I am sure Russia can do this, I am sure Russia wants to do this. As the Ombudsman of Artsakh, I know that there are people in the peacekeeping forces who are loyal to their mission. I would like to ask these people to take all the steps to restore in the shortest period possible the uninterrupted connection between Artsakh and Armenia," Stepanyan said.

Today there are protests near the embassies of the five permanent member states of the UN Security Council. Their aim is to achieve the international community's targeted condemnation of Azerbaijan's provocations, practical steps aimed at overcoming the humanitarian crisis which Artsakh is facing.