Baku today accused Moscow of not fulfilling its obligations under a ceasefire agreement signed in 2020 to end the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia over control of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“The Russian side has not ensured the full implementation of the agreement within the framework of its obligations,” Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry underlines, arguing that Moscow “did nothing to prevent” Armenia from handing over military equipment to the enclave’s separatist forces.

As part of the ceasefire agreement, Russia deployed a military force in the enclave to guarantee the unimpeded movement of people and goods through the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh.

On Tuesday, Azerbaijan closed the Lachin Corridor, alleging that drivers working for the Armenian arm of the Red Cross were smuggling along the route, which the International Committee of the Red Cross denies.

Yesterday Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry called on Azerbaijan to reopen the corridor. In an effort to maintain its dominant role in this region of the Caucasus, Moscow has offered to host a meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia, with the ultimate goal of signing a peace agreement between the two countries.

For its part, the European Union yesterday urged Baku and Yerevan to avoid “violence and harsh rhetoric” in the new round of peace negotiations organized in Brussels. European Council President Charles Michel welcomed Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for talks aimed at ending a three-decade rivalry.

The two former Soviet republics of the Caucasus have been involved in two wars over control of the disputed enclave, the second of which, in 2020, resulted in the defeat of Armenian forces and significant territorial gains for Azerbaijan.