MOSCOW. Dec 27 (Interfax) - Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has called the statement by Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan, alleging that Russia has been forcing Armenia to provide a corridor for Azerbaijan through its territory and to join the Union State of Russia and Belarus, provocative, the NEWS.am website said.
"Such statements could be viewed as provocative. They are untrue. No Russian officials have said this, nor has this been relayed to the Armenian side via anyone," NEWS.am quoted Peskov as saying.
According to Armenian media, the Armenian Security Council secretary said that Russia was forcing Armenia to provide a corridor for Azerbaijan through its sovereign territory and to join the Russian-Belarus Union State.
The media linked the statement to the closure of the Lachin corridor between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said earlier on Tuesday that the Russian peacekeeping contingent had lost control of the Lachin corridor, which connects Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, after the corridor was blocked by Azerbaijan.
"The chief issue, the most pressing issue at the moment is the crisis in the Lachin corridor. The Lachin corridor has been blocked for almost 20 days. This is the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh," Pashinyan said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in St. Petersburg.
Consistent with the trilateral statement of the heads of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan dated November 9, 2020, the Lachin corridor "should stay under control of the Russian peacekeepers, as Azerbaijan guarantees unhampered passenger and cargo transit," he said.
"Now it appears that the Lachin corridor is not under the control by the Russian peacekeepers. Of course, I would like to discuss this situation and the available options," Pashinyan said.
Azerbaijan blocked the Stepanakert-Goris road (the Lachin corridor) on December 12.