Russian peacekeepers clarify every specific incident in Nagorno-Karabakh. This is what Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Maria Zakharova declared in response to a question whether Russian peacekeepers have powers to adopt a decision on who is allowed to enter Artsakh and who is denied entry, taking into consideration the cases when reporters, tourists and members of international and charitable organizations have been denied entry into Artsakh, with reference to Azerbaijan’s stance.

“We all simply have to ask ourselves what we want. Do we want to boost tourism in Artsakh in this stage, or achieve sustainable peace, the return of refugees and the establishment of a normal life? We need to answer this major question. The way we see it, the problem is sustainable peace, return of people and establishment of normal life. Russian peacekeepers are busy achieving this goal and solving this problem. However, I repeat, in my opinion, the key objective of those who signed the agreement, those who see themselves as the ones who can help resolve the situation, those who are in contact with the sides, as well as the representatives of international organizations is to ensure sustainable peace and the return of people to this territory. There are many provocations and complicated situations. We are all in favor of seeing reporters be able to work in all corners of the globe and see tourists come. However, there is a key objective, and we need to focus on meeting the objective. With all due respect for people who are interested in sightseeing and the beauty of the land, they must also not forget about this major objective,” Zakharova said.