An Armenian pro-government lawmaker has denied any major differences between Yerevan and Moscow over the role of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh following deadly clashes in the disputed region last week.
Vigen Khachatrian, a member of the ruling Civil Contract faction led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, said on August 8 that there was no "tension" or "differences" with the Russian peacekeeping operation that has overseen a Moscow-brokered cease-fire between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces since November 2020.
The deadly clashes broke out between ethnic Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in early August along the Lachin corridor, an area that links Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh and which is under the control of Russian peacekeepers as part the trilateral cease-fire deal that ended a six-month war in 2020 between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions.
Following the renewed fighting last week that reportedly left two Armenian and one Azerbaijani soldier dead, Armenia accused Azerbaijan of violating the cease-fire, and Pashinian on August 4 called for "adjusting" the Russian peacekeeping operation.
SEE ALSO: U.S., EU Diplomats Urge Leaders Of Armenia, Azerbaijan To Calm Tensions Over Nagorno-KarabakhAzerbaijan has denied any cease-fire violations in or around Karabakh and accused Armenia of violating the agreement. The situation in the Lachin corridor and the "line of contact" monitored by Russian peacekeepers had been relatively calm since March.
Pashinian in particular suggested that the Russian contingent could be given a "broader international mandate."
"If we see that solutions are not possible in a trilateral [Russian-Armenian-Azerbaijani] format, we will have to think about activating additional international mechanisms," Pashinian said on August 4.
The following day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow had not received any concrete proposals for any changes to the peacekeeping mandate from Pashinian and said that Russian peacekeepers were "making every effort to stabilize the situation on the ground."
However, Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman Vahan Hunanian said later on August 5 that in February 2021 the Armenian side submitted written concerns about the activities of the Russian peacekeeping contingent to Russia's top leadership, with the aim of improving efficiency and avoiding conflict in the future.
Armenia’s Foreign Ministry has not yet disclosed details of the 2021 document it says was submitted to Russia.
The exchange between the Armenian and Russian officials gave rise to speculation about a growing rift between Yerevan and Moscow.
Civil Contract lawmaker Khachatrian, however, said on August 8 it was more a lack of understanding.
"I don't think that the Foreign Ministry should publish the contents of every document. What was said is as much as could be said," he said.
Later on August 8, the Kremlin said in a statement that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pashinian had discussed the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh by telephone.
Gegham Manukian, a member of the opposition Hayastan parliamentary faction who last year joined calls for Pashinian to step down following Armenia's defeat in the 2020 war, said it was unclear how the Armenian side envisions ways of raising the effectiveness of the Russian peacekeeping operation.
However, he did outline how his faction sees the situation.
"We should first discuss the issue of raising the number of Russian peacekeepers [deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh]," he said. "Secondly, we should reconsider the way the Russian force is deployed."
Baku and Yerevan have been locked in a conflict over Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh for years.
Armenian-backed separatists seized the mainly Armenian-populated region from Azerbaijan during a war in the early 1990s that killed some 30,000 people. Diplomatic efforts to settle the conflict between the two former Soviet republics brought little progress.
A multinational peacekeeping operation was discussed as part of the peace process before the renewed outbreak of war in 2020. But after Russia brokered the cease-fire, fellow OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs the United States and France welcomed Moscow's peacekeeping operation.