Armenia had to respond to the statement by the Russian foreign ministry; and its failure to respond raised certain questions. Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Minister of State Gurgen Nersisyan stated this on the air of "Factor of Power" program of Armenian News-NEWS.am, referring to the Russian foreign ministry statement in which it was noted that Armenia expressed its willingness to recognize Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan, as a result of which the situation in the region has completely changed, the conditions under which the statement of November 9, 2020 was signed have changed, and this has also changed the status of Russian peacekeeping forces in Artsakh.

"On the other hand, the statement of November 9 is a document signed by the heads of states, by which the parties assumed obligations that they must fulfill, including Russia and Azerbaijan. No matter how much we try to criticize, Armenia's recognition of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity has promoted Azerbaijan to set up a checkpoint in the Lachin corridor. I believe the Russian Federation statement also refers to this to some extent," Nersisyan added.

"The Russian Federation is carrying out a peacekeeping mission here. And despite many problems, the Russian Federation is more or less the only guarantor of security at the moment. It is not permissible to turn the Artsakh issue into a platform or a field of competition between the West and Russia. If the goal of the mediators is to remove Russia from the region by promising the people of Artsakh an uncertain future, then it will not be that easy. Here it is not a question of protecting Russia, it is a question of the fate of our people, and we are against such an approach to solving problems at the expense of trampling on the rights of our people," said the Artsakh state minister.

He noted that the more Armenia lowers the bar related to the Artsakh issue, it will be that much harder for the people of Artsakh to raise it.

"The more Armenia lowers that bar, that much greater problems we, the people of Artsakh, will face," Gurgen Nersisyan said.