Azerbaijan says Russia not fulfilling Karabakh truce deal obligations

Azerbaijan has accused Russia of failing to fulfil its obligations under a 2020 ceasefire agreement which Moscow brokered to end the war with Armenia in which Baku liberated the Karabakh region.

"The Russian side did not ensure full implementation of the agreement within the framework of its obligations," Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said on Sunday, adding that Moscow "did nothing to prevent" Armenia's military supplies from reaching to pro-Armenia forces in Karabakh.

"Despite repeated warnings by Azerbaijan about the facts on utilisation of the Lachin road for illegal activities, the transportation of military equipment and landmines from Armenia to the territory of Azerbaijan, the rotation of illegal armed formations, as well as the illegal transportation of third-party citizens to Azerbaijan, no measures were taken to prevent the illegal activity," the ministry added.

The ministry also said "Armenia has not fulfilled many provisions of the statement", while Azerbaijan remained true to the trilateral statements signed between the leaders of the three countries.

Aliyev-Pashinyan meeting

The statement comes as Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met in Brussels where they held a fresh round of EU-mediated peace talks.

European Council President Charles Michel is mediating the discussions, which come amid renewed tensions after Azerbaijan temporarily closed the Lachin corridor, the sole land link between Karabakh and Armenia.

Baku and Yerevan have been seeking to negotiate a peace agreement with the help of the European Union and United States, whose diplomatic engagement in the Caucasus has irked traditional regional power broker Russia.

Moscow on Saturday offered to host the two countries' foreign ministers and suggested the future peace treaty could be signed in Moscow.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Karabakh, which is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

Most of the territory was liberated by Baku during a war in the fall of 2020 which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement and opened the door to normalisation.