To say and state such things is just not to understand the realities on the ground, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said this at a weekly briefing, commenting on Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's statement that if Russia cannot ensure stability and security in Nagorno-Karabakh due to objective or subjective reasons, it should either initiate discussion at a UN Security Council meeting, thus raising the issue of giving Russian peacekeepers a UNSC mandate, or sending additional multinational peacekeeping forces to Nagorno-Karabakh.

"Armenia is a staunch supporter of the presence of Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh. But the increasingly visible practice of turning Russian peacekeepers into silent witnesses to the devastation of Nagorno-Karabakh is unacceptable to us," Pashinyan said.

"And can I also ask a question, but without the Russian peacekeeping contingent, can anyone say responsibly, would it have been better? I think the answer is obvious. You can talk about increasing the effectiveness of peacekeeping forces, and I would like to repeat that everybody is working to resolve the situation. But to say and state such things is just not to understand the realities on the ground," Zakharova said.