Russia’s FSB Chief Says NATO Is Undermining the Nagorno-Karabakh Agreement

Nov. 19, 2020 (EIRNS)—Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Director Sergei Naryshkin issued a statement accusing NATO countries of attempting to undermine the Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“According to the information we have, some Western countries are inciting Armenian and Azerbaijani nationalists to discredit and disrupt the ceasefire agreements. They are trying to convince Armenians that the peace in Nagorno-Karabakh is a defeat for Yerevan. They are injecting ideas about the need for a ‘war to the victorious end.’ On the other hand, Azerbaijanis are told that the Kremlin ‘stole their victory’ when the Azerbaijani army was a step away from capturing [Karabakh capital] Stepanakert,”

reads his statement released on Nov. 18, reported TASS.

Naryshkin further said that

“leading NATO countries are trying to hide their irritation at the agreement on the Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire between Azerbaijan and Armenia reached with Russia’s active participation. ... The United States and its allies are vexed that the war was stopped through Moscow’s mediation. The thing is that it essentially reduced their longstanding work to push Russia out of Transcaucasia to zero.”

He continued: “Neither Washington nor the ‘United Europe’ want to come to terms with the existing balance of power in the region. They couldn’t come up with anything better than trying to rekindle animosity between the nations of Azerbaijan and Armenia to dismantle it,” he warned.

“These actions serve as yet more proof that the U.S. and its European friends again pursue their goals at the expense of the interests of ordinary people, in this case, Azerbaijanis and Armenians. Americans and Europeans are not worried that their provocations can lead to new bloodshed and plunge the region into a severe military conflict.”

Confirming the fact that Russia was able to seize the initiative and stop the conflict and put it on the path to resolution, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement praising the role of Russian President Vladimir Putin who had brought the two countries heads to Moscow on Nov. 9 to sign a ceasefire agreement. “The personal role of the Russian President and his signature to the trilateral statement are an exceptionally important contribution to the peace process and a guarantee this process will not be reversed,” the statement said. “Russia is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, a country that borders on our region and has old-time historical bonds with it. This explains Russia’s direct interest in strengthening security, stability and peace in the South Caucasus,” the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said. “From the very beginning of the war the Azerbaijani side has always and entirely supported the international community’s calls for ceasefire.”

Meanwhile a poll conducted for Radio Sputnik revealed that 83.8% of Armenians have a positive attitude toward Russia and see the country as an ally, while 9.4% expressed their negative attitude. The poll was conducted by MPG, the exclusive representative of the Gallup International Association in Armenia. In addition 62.3% said Russia was a country they could count on for support followed by France (39.9%), neighboring Iran (6.4%), the United States (5.8%), Germany (1.2%) and Georgia (0.6%). When asked whether Russia is Armenia’s ally, 84.6% replied in the affirmative, while 11.8% replied in the negative.