Russian President Vladimir Putin called the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh a tragedy and Russia is extremely concerned. He said this in an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin. A fragment of the conversation was shown on Wednesday on Russia-24 TV channel.
"The people of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh are no strangers to us. Suffice it to say that some 2 million Azerbaijanis and over 2 million Armenians live in Russia, as far as we know. A large number of Russian citizens have close friends and even family members in both republics," Putin pointed out.
Russia hopes that the conflict will stop very soon, even if it is not settled definitively, in any case, Russia is calling for a ceasefire, Putin said.
"We hope that the conflict will stop very soon. Even if it is not settled definitively, and it seems that this is a long way off, in any case, we are calling for a ceasefire, and I want to say this once again. This must be done as soon as possible," the Russian president said.
According to the Russian leader, the Armenian leadership has not voiced any questions about the fulfillment of Russia’s allied commitments. "As you know, Armenia is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, and so we have certain obligations towards it under the treaty," Putin reminded. "It is deeply regrettable that the hostilities continue, but they are not taking place in the Armenian territory," the President underlined. "As for meeting our obligations under this treaty, Russia has always honored and will continue to honor its commitments. You should know that I maintain regular contact with the Prime Minister of Armenia, and the Armenian leadership has not voiced any questions about the fulfillment of Russia’s allied commitments," Putin said.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Sergey Bobylev / TASS
Based on materials from TASS