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Armenia conveyed its concerns over the Russian peacekeeping activities in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) to the Russian leadership back in February 2021, Foreign Ministry spokesman Vahan Hunanyan said on Friday.

“The concerns of the Armenian side regarding the need to increase the effectiveness of the activities of the Russian peacekeeping troops and the emergence of possible issues in the future, among other cases, were conveyed in a written form to the top leadership of the Russian Federation in February 2021,” the spokesman said in a statement.

His comments came in response to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks that Moscow had not yet seen Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's proposals for specifying details of the Russian peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Pashinyan said a number of events that have taken place in Nagorno-Karabakh since November 2020, including the latest developments, “raise questions about the activities of the Russian peacekeeping contingent.”

“In this context, there is an urgent need to adjust details of the [Russian] peacekeeping operation there,” he said.

The prime minister added at the same time that he considered the presence and activities of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh a key factor for ensuring security of Armenians, and highly rated the Russian efforts to ensure security and stability in the region.

“We expect that any attempt to cross the line of contact will be stopped by the Russian peacekeeping troops,” he said.