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Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated that Russia officially recognizes Karabakh as Azerbaijan territory, addressing controversial remarks made by a senior Russian official.
Zakharova spoke to Russian media regarding contentious statements made by Vladimir Medinsky, aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, about the Karabakh region.
The spokesperson emphasized Medinsky was only commenting on the tragedy surrounding the armed conflict, stating that people should avoid "creating non-existent messages or rearranging words."
"Medinsky addressed the historical dimension of the region, its social and cultural characteristics, and the suffering of the people. Russia officially recognizes this region (Karabakh) as Azerbaijan territory," Zakharova said.
Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky had drawn significant criticism for comments made in an interview with Russian media outlet Russia Today, where he compared the war in Ukraine to the situation in Karabakh.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Ayhan Hajizada, had responded to the statement, calling for avoiding damage to interstate relations.
"The remarks made by Vladimir Medinsky, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation, during an interview with Russia Today on June 9, when he distorted facts regarding the former Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and presented the Karabakh region as a disputed territory, are both regrettable and surprising," Hajizada stated.
Hajizada expressed disappointment and surprise at the distortion of facts regarding the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and the presentation of the Karabakh region as a disputed territory in the interview.
The statement from the Azerbaijan MFA spokesperson follows: "Surprisingly, as an assistant to the President of the Russian Federation and also the Chairman of the Interdepartmental Commission on Historical Education of Russia, Medinsky is unaware that Karabakh has never been a disputed territory."
"We would like to remind you that Karabakh is an ancient and integral part of Azerbaijan. Russia itself has recognized and continues to recognize Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan’s territory. The concerning issue is that the assistant to the president of a country that was a co-chair of the Minsk Group either does not understand or does not wish to understand his country’s position on this matter."
"Regrettably, the assistant to the Russian president compares the Russia-Ukraine war to the situation that existed in Karabakh. Such a comparison is inappropriate, as Azerbaijan has never violated the territorial integrity of any country or waged an aggressive war against any state. In 2020 and 2023, Azerbaijan conducted the Patriotic War and anti-terrorist measures within its sovereign and internationally recognized territories."
"The 44-day Patriotic War and the anti-terrorist measures of 2023, which lasted less than a day, resulted in Azerbaijan’s complete victory and Armenia’s defeat, putting an end to Armenia’s occupation under the norms and principles of international law."
"We recommend (Mr.) Medinsky to refrain from damaging interstate relations while making such erroneous claims on matters beyond his authority," Hajizada concluded.
In his June 9 interview with the Russia Today television channel, Medinsky had presented Karabakh as disputed territory and distorted facts related to the former Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.
The Russian official, who heads Russia's delegation in negotiations with Ukraine, stated in the RT interview that if the Ukrainian conflict were stopped along the front line without agreeing on "real peace," the region would "turn into a huge Karabakh," adding that it "was a disputed region between Armenia and Azerbaijan."
"Russia officially recognizes this region as Azerbaijani territory. Medinsky was speaking about the historical aspect, sociocultural characteristics, and people's pain," the Russian diplomat noted.
"The discussion was exclusively about the tragedy of armed conflict," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
"There is no need to take non-existent theses out of context and rearrange words, giving them a completely different meaning," Zakharova declared.
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