Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, in a letter to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the occasion of Russia Day, highly assessed Moscow's mediation efforts in reaching trilateral statements on the Karabakh ceasefire and expressed confidence in the further effective development of the strategic partnership.
According to the text of the letter cited by Aliyev's press service, Russia has achieved significant successes in state-building, sustainable social and economic development and modernization of all spheres of public life, and today makes a significant contribution to maintaining global and regional peace and security. The Azerbaijani leader expressed special satisfaction with the dynamic and successful development of relations between Azerbaijan and Russia and the constructive bilateral dialogue.
"We highly appreciate the mediation efforts of the Russian Federation in achieving and implementing the trilateral statements of November 10, 2020, and January 11, 2021. I am convinced that the Azerbaijani-Russian strategic partnership and multifaceted interaction will continue to effectively develop and deepen, being filled with new content, for the benefit of our peoples and countries, in the name of ensuring stability, cooperation and progress in the region," the letter says.
At the end of September 2020, hostilities resumed in Nagorno-Karabakh, which was a continuation of the years-long conflict and resulted in civilian casualties. The parties made several attempts to conclude a ceasefire, but a trilateral agreement reached on the night of November 10 was successful. With Russian mediation, Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed to a complete cease-fire and to an exchange of prisoners and bodies. Yerevan also gave Kelbajar, Lachin and Agdam districts to Baku. In addition, Russian peacekeepers are stationed in the region. On January 11 this year, the countries adopted a statement on the creation of a trilateral working group aimed at unblocking all economic and transport links in the region.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from RIA Novosti