Russian President Vladimir Putin invited the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan to Moscow for consultations on a exchange of bodies of the deceased and prisoners, the Kremlin press service reported on Thursday.
“Having engaged in a series of telephone conversations with President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, the President of Russia calls for halting the hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone on humanitarian grounds in order to carry out an exchange of bodies of the deceased and prisoners. The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia are invited to Moscow on October 9 to hold consultations on these matters mediated by the Russian Foreign Ministry," the report says.
The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh escalated on September 27, with active battles taking place on the disputed territory. Martial law has been introduced in Azerbaijan and Armenia and mobilization has been announced. Both sides report killed and wounded, including among civilians.
Baku and Yerevan have been contesting Nagorno-Karabakh since February 1988, when the region announced its secession from the Azerbaijani SSR. During the armed conflict between 1992 and 1994, Azerbaijan lost control over Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS