Allegations of "ethnic cleansing" in Karabakh are not confirmed by conclusions of international organizations - Russian Foreign Ministry

The trilateral agreements of the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020-2022 remain to be the basis of the Armenian-Azerbaijani reconciliation and there is no alternative to them. This was stated by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova at a briefing on August 28, answering the question "If Moscow considers the trilateral declaration of November 9 still valid, how does it see the solution of the issue of the return of the Armenian population to Nagorno-Karabakh".

At the same time, she pointed out that there are no official statements on the rejection of these agreements in Armenia.

On the issue of the return of Armenians from Karabakh, Zakharova said the following: "Regarding your question, how does Russia see the solution of the issue of the return of the Armenian population to their historical homeland - Nagorno-Karabakh? And how does the Armenian Prime Minister N.V. Pashinyan see it? Does he have a detailed program in this regard? I would like to get acquainted with it and comment on it. I have seen the program of the Azerbaijani side for the return of the population there. Why do you ask a representative of another state about our vision? Russia encourages the parties to solve this problem. But it is difficult to do this without the implementation of the trilateral agreements".

According to her, "these agreements cover all the key tracks of normalization of relations between Baku and Yerevan, including the elaboration of a peace treaty, the delimitation and demarcation of the border, the unblocking of transport communications in the region, and the development of contacts through civil society". "Attempts to call them into question are very dangerous. This would create a vacuum of mutual obligations between the parties in the context of the continuing unresolved bilateral relations," Zakharova stressed.

Regarding the use of the expression "ethnic cleansing in Karabakh" by an Armenian journalist, Zakharova pointed out that this statement was not reflected in the conclusions of international organizations.

"Six months ago, we already talked about ethnic cleansing. At that time, I asked if there were any conclusions drawn by representatives of international organizations that are recognized by Armenia. You have not given a single decision or assessment on this topic, which came "from the pen" of international organizations or experts. If you have them now, then share them with me," Zakharova said.