I want to remind you that Ankara is not a party to the [tripartite] statement of the leaders of the Russian Federation, Armenia and Azerbaijan dated November 9, 2020, and it was on the basis of this document that the Russian peacekeeping contingent was deployed in the [Artsakh] Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said at a weekly briefing, commenting on the Turkish President's statement that Russian peacekeepers should leave Nagorno-Karabakh in 2025 and that this is in line with the tripartite agreements of November 9, 2020.

“It is in this document that both the terms of the contingent's stay in the region and the parameters of its possible extension for the next five-year period are clearly outlined. Russian peacekeepers continue an important stabilizing role in Nagorno-Karabakh. The main function is to maintain the ceasefire regime and stop hostilities, given the ongoing tense situation in the region, their activities in the region are even more in demand. Maintaining peace in the South Caucasus is in the interests of both Azerbaijan and Armenia, and all countries in the region, as it seems to me, including Turkey. In this regard, we note the well-coordinated interaction with Turkish partners within the framework of the joint Russian-Turkish Center in the Agdam district,” Zakharova said.