Azernews.Az

BAKU – A deputy speaker of Azerbaijan’s parliament has criticized Russia over continued armament of Armenia, saying it damages Moscow’s peacekeeping mission as a mediator in settling the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

"We said as early as during Boris Yeltsin’s [former Russian president] tenure that this has to stop, but very unfortunately, no result was achieved though certain commissions had been established," Ziyafat Asgarov said. "Today, a country that has the duty to carry out a peacekeeping mission is arming Armenia. We are very concerned over this. But I also have to note that no matter how much Armenia arms itself, Azerbaijan will still have weaponry that is more 10-fold."

The two South Caucasus republics have been locked in conflict for two decades. Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory since a war in the early 1990s. OSCE-brokered peace talks kicked off after the signing of a shaky cease-fire in 1994. Russia, the United States and France are mediating the peace process through the OSCE Minsk Group.

Asgarov said further that the political and military situation around Karabakh settlement in the world is shifting in Azerbaijan’s favor.

"The day Azerbaijan’s land will be freed from [Armenian] occupation is not far off. You will see that happen," he said.