Russian President Vladimir Putin and acting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will indeed discuss the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh at Wednesday's meeting, but there are no plans to sign any documents, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Reporters drew the Kremlin spokesman's attention to Armenian media reports that the leaders of the two countries at the meeting may allegedly consider options to deploy Russian peacekeepers on the Armenian border and sign a corresponding document.
"This report does not correspond to reality," Peskov said in response to a request to comment on the information. "Of course, Karabakh will be discussed, and the Russian military currently stationed there will be discussed, as well as bilateral relations in general. But the signing of any documents is not planned," he stressed.
According to the press secretary of the Russian president, the meeting is scheduled in the afternoon. "This is the first foreign visit that Pashinyan has made since [his party] won the parliamentary elections - confident and convincing," Peskov said. "The volume of bilateral relations is large, there is much to talk about," he stated.
As previously the Kremlin reported, the meeting is planned to consider the implementation of the statements of the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan on the settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh on November 9, 2020, and January 11 of this year. Special attention will be paid to the issues of assistance to the population of the areas affected by the hostilities, as well as the restoration of economic and transport links in the region. In addition, the talks will discuss current aspects of the development of the Russian-Armenian strategic partnership and alliance, the prospects for increasing cooperation within the framework of integration associations in the Eurasian space.
Situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and the border regions
In the fall of 2020, the situation in the conflict zone around Nagorno-Karabakh escalated, active hostilities began there, which ended after the signing of the trilateral statement of the leaders of Russia Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Armenia Nikol Pashinyan on November 9, 2020. Under its terms, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides stopped at the occupied positions, then a number of areas came under Baku's control, and Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the line of contact and the Lachin corridor.
As a result, Armenia's Syunik and Gegharkunik provinces became borderline with Azerbaijan. The situation there escalated on May 12. At that time, the Armenian Defense Ministry reported that Azerbaijani armed forces tried to carry out "certain works" in one of the border regions in order to "adjust the border" and went deep into the Armenian territory. Since then, the sides periodically report incidents.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS