Russia hopes meetings between Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Ilham Aliyev help ensure normalcy and security in Karabakh, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Monday.
"We hope every time that all of the meetings held by the president of Azerbaijan, including with the president of Türkiye, will contribute to security in the region, normalization of life in Karabakh," Peskov said at a news conference in Moscow.
Russia welcomes all efforts to help resolve the Karabakh issue, Peskov said.
The official noted that anyone who can help reduce tensions and assist in the "integration of the Armenian population of Karabakh into the new reality can only be welcomed."
The Kremlin spokesperson rejected Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's claim that Russia is "partly responsible" for recent tensions in the region.
"We understand the emotional intensity of this moment, but we categorically disagree with the attempt to impose responsibility on the Russian side, even more so on the Russian peacekeepers, who show real heroism, performing their functions in accordance with the mandate they have," Peskov stressed.
"No one can blame the peacekeepers for doing something wrong. We will never agree with such reproaches," he added.
Moscow continues dialogue with the parties at various levels, but at the moment there are no agreements on a meeting of the leaders, he said.
According to him, Russian peacekeepers will continue to work in Karabakh, but it is too early to talk about the length of their stay in the region.
"They are now on the territory of Azerbaijan. We continue our contacts with Baku, and the peacekeepers provide assistance and are present at the negotiations that have already begun between the Karabakh Armenians and the Azerbaijani authorities. So far, at the moment this work continues," he noted.
Meanwhile, Moscow on Monday accused Armenia of trying to sever ties after Yerevan accused Russian peacekeepers of failing to stop Azerbaijan's military offensive against Armenian separatists in Karabakh last week.
"The leadership in Yerevan is making a huge mistake by deliberately trying to destroy Armenia's multifaceted and centuries-old ties with Russia, and by holding the country hostage to the geopolitical games of the West," Russia's foreign ministry said.
On Sunday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan criticized Moscow for refusing to intervene in the conflict, which ended with Armenian-backed separatists agreeing to lay down their arms.
Pashinyan said Armenia's current foreign security alliances were "ineffective" and "insufficient."
Moscow said Pashinyan's statement contained "unacceptable attacks on Russia."
"It is an attempt to absolve himself of the responsibility for the failures in domestic and foreign policy," its foreign ministry said.
"Russia has always... respected Armenian statehood," the foreign ministry said, adding that Yerevan "preferred... running to the West to working with Russia and Azerbaijan."
Armenia is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) —a Russian-dominated group comprised of six post-Soviet states.
The group pledges to protect other members that come under attack.
Azerbaijan suspended its counterterrorism measures on Sept. 13, a day after they were launched to disarm Armenian forces in Karabakh and uphold the 2020 trilateral peace agreement.
Relations between Baku and Yerevan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
In the fall of 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages, and settlements from Armenian occupation during 44 days of clashes. The war ended with a Russia-brokered cease-fire, and talks for normalization of ties began.
