Russia considers relocating South Caucasus talks from Switzerland

A family drives a lorry loaded with a small house as they leave their village in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, in November 2020. KEYSTONE/Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Russia wants to penalise Switzerland for its stance in the Ukraine war by relocating the South Caucasus talks from Geneva to another country, according to the state agency Tass.

Russia feels compelled to raise the issue of moving the talks on the conflict region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus from Switzerland to another country, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday.

“We have repeatedly drawn the Swiss side’s attention to the fact that its irresponsible adherence to an openly anti-Russian course violates its declared ‘neutrality’,” she said. She also mentioned Switzerland’s participation in the sanctions against Russia and its “unreserved solidarity with the Kyiv regime”.

In view of this, Russia feels compelled to solidify the issue of transferring the international talks on security and stability in the South Caucasus to another country. Russia favours a country “whose authorities do not take any actions that harm the interests of any of the participants in this negotiating format”.

Offensive in autumn

Zakharova explained that several other states had agreed to host the regular discussion meetings.

The Nagorno-Karabakh region within Azerbaijan, which is predominantly populated by Armenians, has been a point of contention between Baku and Yerevan for many years. In a surprising offensive last autumn, Azerbaijan conquered the enclave.

The internationally unrecognised Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh was dissolved on January 1, 2024. Thousands of Armenians left the region. Talks on peace and a settlement to the decades-long conflict have recently stalled. Numerous diplomatic talks between the parties to the conflict have taken place in Geneva in recent years.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

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