Russia and Armenia have failed to fulfill their obligations under the trilateral deal signed after 44 days of heavy fighting between Baku and Yerevan in the Karabakh region in 2020, the Azerbaijani foreign ministry said on Saturday.
"Since the first day of the signing of the aforementioned trilateral statement, Armenia has not fulfilled many provisions of the statement, and Russia has not ensured the full implementation of the statement within its obligations," the ministry said in a statement.
Noting that Azerbaijan always "stayed true" to the trilateral deal, the statement said no measures were taken despite "repeated warnings by Baku on the use of the Lachin road for illegal activities."
"Over the past few months, hundreds of Armenian residents have been allowed to pass through this checkpoint in a well-regulated and transparent manner. Despite this, Armenia has not ceased its provocations against Azerbaijan and opened fire on the checkpoint on June 15, as well as attempted smuggling using vehicles of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in July," the statement added.
It added that attempts to politicize the establishment of the border checkpoint and statements made on the alleged humanitarian crisis in the region are "baseless."
"Notwithstanding the above-mentioned facts, the complete withdrawal of the remnants of the Armenian armed forces existing in the territory of Azerbaijan has not yet been ensured contrary to the 2020 Trilateral Statement, to which the Russian Federation is a party. On the contrary, Armenian armed forces are supported under the supervision of the Russian peacekeeping contingent," it further said.
It also said that an earlier Russian Foreign Ministry statement on the trilateral deal and the peace process between Baku and Yerevan caused "disappointment and misunderstanding," as well as contradicts Moscow's previous statements supporting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan.
A statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry earlier on Saturday urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to immediately draft a peace treaty "based on the previously reached agreements," expressing Moscow's belief that "reliable and clear guarantees of the rights and security of the Armenians of Karabakh should become an integral part of this agreement."
Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military illegally occupied Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan and seven adjacent regions.
Clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, with the Armenian Army attacking civilians and Azerbaijani forces, violating several humanitarian ceasefire agreements.
During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and around 300 settlements and villages that had been occupied by Armenia for almost 30 years.
The fighting ended with a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10, 2020, which was seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia.
However, the ceasefire has been broken several times since then.
