The European Union (EU) is not concerned with the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but with pushing Russia out of the region, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told RBC.
"And in this I see the direction of the overall Western line to reach the unattainable: what they try to call Russia's international isolation; this is one of the manifestations of that line.
"Russia has been making efforts to settle this long-standing conflict for many years. In the fall of 2020, we [Russia] were the important mediators in developing the tripartite agreements. All the ways that were mentioned in those agreements were stolen by the European Union and the USA, as if Russia has nothing to do with them. Then the debates began in the so-called ‘Brussels platform,’ where Armenia’s leadership radically changed its position and recognized Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, not remembering the rights and security of Artsakh Armenians. And the European Union, instead of helping with the settlement, instead of taking advantage of our achievements based on its own situational interests, accuses Russia of all deadly sins in the context of the events of September 19.
"Today they are talking about the fact that they are ready to provide a platform, but they completely ignore the wishes of other participants. That is, the European Union considers it possible to dictate to others who can participate, and not. This is a mentoring tactic, a colonial one, which ignores the rights and interests of other participants in international communication. And they are, as is known, equal sovereign states because the principle of sovereign equality is enshrined in the UN Charter," said Galuzin.
He noted, however, that the EU, the US, and Russia can still work together on this topic, but "with the understanding that the European Union and the USA will not steal our achievements and present them as theirs, but rather place their actions in another modality of the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement, which has already been worked out between the parties with the mediation of Russia. It is from this angle that we are approaching the contacts with the European Union and the USA in this matter," Galuzin noted.
"I do not agree with you that we are talking about some kind of competition. There are modalities of peaceful settlement that have been developed between Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia in 2020 and the following two years. And if the European Union and the USA want to help their implementation, then, of course, we will not oppose it. But if we are talking about taking advantage of Russian achievements and acting without Russia, it is clear that such an approach cannot satisfy us," the Russia deputy FM told the RBC reporter.
