Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia is ready to deploy troops on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan to calm tensions between the two countries, but Armenia's tough stance has so far prevented this.

Lavrov said - in a press conference yesterday, Wednesday, in the Russian capital, Moscow - that Russia is still ready to send a mission to the region within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

It is a military alliance led by Moscow that includes Armenia, but Azerbaijan is not a member of it.

He added, "We faced difficulties related to the situation in Armenia when our Armenian friends raised the need to send a mission of the Collective Security Treaty Organization to the border with Azerbaijan to achieve some stability there."

"We agreed on a document and criteria for the mission, but it was not possible to accept it because Armenia began to insist that the document include a strong condemnation of Azerbaijan," he said.

Tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan have escalated due to the closure of the Lachin corridor in recent weeks, which is the only route that provides direct access from Armenia to the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Nagorno-Karabakh region is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but is controlled by a pro-Armenian majority.

Russia is an ally of Armenia, but it also strives for good relations with Azerbaijan, while the impasse is seen as a test of Russia's ability to smooth out animosities in its own backyard.

Officials in Armenia have grown increasingly angry at Moscow's refusal to use its peacekeeping power in the region to end the closure of the Lachin Corridor, while Moscow has criticized Armenia's attempts to get the European Union to broker a settlement.

"Despite the fact that we are allies, Armenia prefers to negotiate with the European Union," Lavrov said on Wednesday, noting that any presence of the European Union in the region without Azerbaijan's consent would be counterproductive.

For its part, the US State Department said that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke yesterday, Wednesday, with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and they discussed steps to resume bilateral talks with Azerbaijan.

He added that Blinken "expressed his deep concern about the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of the closure of the Lachin corridor."

Azeris who say they are environmental activists have blocked the road for more than a month, which they say is a dispute over Armenia's illegal mining.

While Armenia says they are government-backed agitators.