Zakharova: Russian peacekeepers died in Karabakh for the sake of peace in the region

Russian peacekeepers who were in a car that was fired upon on September 20 near the village of Dzhatanyag in Nagorno-Karabakh died for the sake of peace in this region, stated official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova.

“Happy memory to the fallen Russian peacekeepers, who, as always, took the blow for the sake of peace in the region. The black ingratitude with which the unscrupulous tried to question their activities will not overshadow their feat,” she wrote in her Telegram channel.

According to Zakharova, Armenia chose not to implement the trilateral agreements reached in November 2020, but to “seek happiness” from NATO and the EU. As a result, in October 2022, through the mediation of Brussels and Paris, a statement was adopted in which Yerevan and Baku confirmed their commitment to the UN Charter and the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1991, and also recognized each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, she recalled.

“This became Yerevan’s final solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Why Nikol Pashinyan and the Armenian authorities did exactly this, why Paris and Brussels pushed official Yerevan to do this, these questions must be asked of them,” she concluded.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, a car with Russian servicemen subjected to shelling from small arms during the return of the Russian peacekeeping contingent from an observation post in the area of ​​​​the village of Dzhanyatag. The number of Russian peacekeepers killed has not been specified; Russian and Azerbaijani investigators are working at the scene.

On September 19, Azerbaijan announced the start of “anti-terrorism measures” in Nagorno-Karabakh to “restorate the constitutional order.” Already on September 20, the unrecognized NKR announced a complete ceasefire and disarmament of troops through the mediation of Russian peacekeepers. This was confirmed by the defense departments of Azerbaijan and Russia.

Russian peacekeepers, the Ministry of Defense said earlier, continue to perform their functions in conditions of escalation. In particular, their forces evacuated more than 2,000 civilians. The command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent is in contact with the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides, as well as representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh, the military department added.