Armenia’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday responded to comments made by its Russian counterpart, whose spokesperson claimed that last week’s incident where Azerbaijani soldiers attempted to plant a flag on Armenia’s sovereign territory was due to the absence of demarcated borders between the two countries.

The Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova on Wednesday also accused Yerevan of abandoning the agreements reached between the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan, specifically the November 9, 2020 statement.

Armenia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan said on Thursday countered Zakharova’s claim and pointed out that Azerbaijani forces were on Armenia’s sovereign territory.

Badalyan said the Russian foreign ministry’s assessment of the situation “is a clear contradiction,” pointing out that if Zakharova’s were, in fact, true and the area in question is not demarcated then “on what basis and principle was the Azerbaijani flag being raised on June 15 on this particular part of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, on this [the Armenian] side of the [Hakari] bridge.”

Badalyan emphasized that the June 15 incident took place on the Armenian side of the border, and questioned why several video recordings of the incident suggest that the Russian peacekeeping forces were assisting Azerbaijani soldiers in the operation.

“It is not clear why Russian peacekeepers participated in that operation by Azerbaijan, when both the purpose and even the location of the operation were clearly outside the scope of the peacekeepers’ functions and responsibility. We remind that the only function of the Russian peacekeepers was to control and monitor the five-kilometer wide Lachin Corridor,” Badalyan hit back.

The Armenian spokesperson pointed out that after the June 15 incident, the Azerbaijan completely blocked the Lachin Corridor, as a result of which even humanitarian supplies, including food and medicine, are not being delivered to Artsakh, seriously ill persons in need of medical care are not being transported from Artsakh to Armenian medical institutions through the ICRC, and gas and electricity supply continues to be interrupted.

Badalyan also said that by invoking the absence of demarcated borders argument, Zakharova was repeating “verbatim” talking points repeated by Azerbaijan when it is “carrying out aggressive actions against the borders of the Republic of Armenia and invading the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia.”

“We would like to urge the signatories of November 9, 2020 declaration and other tripartite statements accepted by the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan, to steadily implement their commitments, instead of seeking justifications,” said Badalyan.