The Russian Foreign Ministry called the statements of French President Emmanuel Macron, who accused Moscow of "purposefully provoking" the recent clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, blatant and absolutely unacceptable.
"We find Macron's claims that Russia is using the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to destabilize the South Caucasus outrageous and absolutely unacceptable. Such attacks are in line with the anti-Russian policy of the West to demonize Russia and are the evidence of the attempts to transfer the confrontational logic from Ukraine to other parts of the post-Soviet space, including the South Caucasus. The absurd fabrications of the French president reveal Paris' disinterest in establishing lasting peace in the region and call into question his country's ability to play a constructive role there.
Unlike France, which even during periods of aggravation between Baku and Yerevan limited itself to the standard appeals for peace, Russia contributed to the settlement of the conflict in practical terms. Our country made a decisive contribution to the signing of a trilateral statement of the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia on November 9, 2020, which ended the bloodshed. The peacekeeping contingent deployed in accordance with this agreement remains the guarantor of security in the region. Peacekeepers effectively prevent incidents in their area of responsibility, help establish peaceful life - deliver humanitarian aid, and restore infrastructure. With their assistance, 53,000 refugees have returned home, more than 2,000 bodies of dead have been returned, a total of 146 detainees have been returned, and over 25,000 explosive devices have been deactivated.
It is Russia that has launched a comprehensive normalization of relations between Baku and Yerevan. With the Russian participation, efforts to promote the peace agenda on the basis of the statements of the leaders of the three countries on November 9, 2020, January 11 and November 26, 2021 continue. In particular, steps are taken to unblock all economic and transport communications in the South Caucasus, delimit the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, conclude a peace treaty, establish a dialogue through the public and experts.
Attempts of Paris to drive a wedge into Russia's relations with Azerbaijan and Armenia, which are close to us and with which Russia has longstanding and multifaceted ties, are doomed to failure and will only lead to further devaluation of France's authority in the region," says a comment by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.
