Mechanisms for demarcation and delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be created by the end of the year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"We have agreed on a number of issues that I believe are key. The first of them is the creation of mechanisms, by the end of this year we have agreed to do so, mechanisms for the demarcation and delimitation of the borders between the two states," the Russian leader said, summarizing Friday's talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
"I hope this will happen as soon as possible, there are no obstacles to the creation of these mechanisms," Putin pointed out.
The Russian president said he was satisfied with the results of the talks. "We worked very constructively today, it was an in-depth analysis of the situation that has developed so far," the head of state said.
Putin thanked Aliyev and Pashinyan "for agreeing to come to Russia today and discuss the current situation in the settlement of the Karabakh problem and in the region as a whole."
"We paid tribute to the work of our Russian peacekeepers, border guards, those specialists who deal with demining, ensure the return of people to their permanent places of residence," Putin stressed.
Humanitarian issues
Putin also noted that the negotiations managed to advance on humanitarian issues, the parties agreed to unblock transport corridors.
"There is a very important, sensitive point related to humanitarian issues, and we have also made considerable progress here," the Russian leader said.
Putin added that much attention was devoted to issues of economic ties. "As a first step, we talked about unblocking transport corridors," the Russian president said.
He specified that this applies to both railroads and road connections. "I think that here we should thank our deputy prime ministers who have been working on this issue for quite some time," Putin said.
Results of the meeting
Putin also called the meeting with Aliyev and Pashinyan useful and timely, expressing hope that the agreements will be respected.
"I want to emphasize that the meeting was highly useful, timely," he said after the talks in Sochi. - "On my left is our gift to our Armenian and Azerbaijani friends, an olive branch, which symbolizes peace and prosperity. I very much expect that today's agreements will be implemented and will create the conditions for the next steps in the normalization of relations in the South Caucasus as a whole."
Putin added that the leaders of the three countries signed a statement on the results of their joint work in Sochi. "The public and the media can read this statement. It sets out in more detail what we have been doing and what we have agreed on," the Russian president summarized.
As the Kremlin clarified, the gifts after the talks to Aliyev and Pashinyan mentioned by Putin are statuettes in the form of a golden olive branch. "The olive tree symbolizes peace, victory, joy, abundance, purity, chastity and immortality. It is a blessed tree in ancient, Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions," the Kremlin explained.
The work is made in duplicate to order. On the pedestals, where the figures of branches are installed, there are also commemorative plaques with the date and location: Sochi, November 26, 2021.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS