Russian President Vladimir Putin said that both sides of the conflict in Karabakh are suffering heavy losses, the total number of dead is approaching 5 thousand. He said this on Thursday at a meeting of the Valdai club.
"According to our data, there are more than 2 thousand dead on both sides. The total number of dead is approaching 5,000, " Putin said. He noted that during the 10 years of the war in Afghanistan, the Soviet Union's losses amounted to 13 thousand people, and in Nagorno-Karabakh "in such a short period of time, almost 5 thousand have already been lost."
The President stressed that it is a "huge tragedy" for Russia when people die because of the crisis around Nagorno-Karabakh. He recalled that " the conflict began not just as an inter-state conflict and a struggle for territories, it began with an ethnic confrontation." "Unfortunately, it is a fact that brutal crimes were committed against the Armenian people in Sumgait and later in Nagorno-Karabakh. We must take all this into account in the complex. At the same time, we understand that this situation, in which a significant part of the territory of Azerbaijan has been lost, cannot continue forever. Over the years, we have offered a variety of solutions to this crisis in order to stabilize the situation in the long-term historical perspective."
Putin noted that hard work was being done to bring the positions of the two countries closer together, and at certain moments it seemed that "one more step and we will find a solution." "Unfortunately, this did not happen, and today we have a conflict in its worst form," the Russian leader said.
Equal partner
Armenia and Azerbaijan are equal partners for Russia, and it has always had special ties with both countries, the Russian President said.
"Russia has always had special ties with Armenia. And we have always had special ties with Azerbaijan. More than 2 million Armenians and about 2 million Azerbaijanis live in Russia. These are not only people who came here for temporary work, they are people who live here almost constantly. They spend billions of dollars to support their families while working in Russia. All these people have very stable and close ties with Russia on the humanitarian level - interpersonal, business, humanitarian, and family. Therefore, both Armenia and Azerbaijan are equal partners for us," Putin said.
Putin noted that Russia wants to build full-fledged relations with both Armenia and Azerbaijan. According to him, Christianity brings Russia closer to Armenia, and Azerbaijan has very close ties in other areas. At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that almost 15% of the population of the Russian Federation profess Islam. "Even in this sense, Azerbaijan is not a foreign country for us," the President said.
The Russian President said that all participants in the negotiations on Nagorno-Karabakh sincerely seek a settlement, but Russia is more interested in this than others. "All participants in the negotiation process sincerely want the situation to be resolved, but no one is more interested in this than Russia," the Russian leader stressed.
"I would very much like this compromise to be found. You know, I am in very close contact with President [of Azerbaijan] Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister [of Armenia] Nikol Pashinyan. I talk to them on the phone several times a day. Our Foreign Minister, Defense Minister, and heads of special services are in constant contact, " Putin said.
The search for a compromise
The Russian President hopes that the United States will help resolve the conflict in Karabakh. "Once again, the Foreign Ministers of both countries (Azerbaijan and Armenia) visited us [in Moscow]. They meet in Washington on the 23rd. I very much hope that our American partners will act in unison with us and help resolve the conflict. Let's hope for the best, " the Russian leader said.
The settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh should involve finding constructive and acceptable compromises for both sides of the conflict, the Russian President said. "We need to find constructive, acceptable compromises for both sides," Putin said.
The President said that for many years, Russia and other parties to the settlement have been very persistent in seeking and offering these compromises. "Up to the details, up to kilometers, to be honest, all sorts of corridors were built, the exchange of territories, whatever was offered there. But, unfortunately, we could not find this solution, and all this led to the tragedy of today, " Putin said.
He expressed hope that the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh will end, and recalled the relevant agreements reached earlier in Moscow. "Unfortunately, it was not possible to maintain this situation. We will continue to strive for this, " Putin said.
About the format of the Minsk group
At the same time, the Russian leader stressed that we are talking about neighboring countries with which Russia has special relations and "has a very powerful influence". Putin concluded that Russian-Armenian and Russian-Azerbaijani relations in this sense differ from the level of relations between these countries and the United States, and even from the relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan.
"Of course, we feel a special responsibility [for promoting a settlement in the region], but in this regard we must also behave very carefully," the Russian leader said. He called it important for Russia to be supported by other participants of the OSCE Minsk group on the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh, including the United States and France.
The Russian President found it difficult to say whether the format of the Minsk group should be changed. "I don't have an answer to your question, unfortunately," Putin said to the forum participant who asked the question. "Maybe we can change the format a little bit," the head of state admitted.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Sergey Bobylev / TASS
Based on materials from TASS