Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin did not discuss possible Russian military intervention in the Karabakh conflict during a telephone conversation on Tuesday, Pashinyan said.
"We didn't discuss with the Russian President a possible military intervention of Russia in the Karabakh conflict. Also we do not need to use the potential of the 102nd Russian base, but in case of such a need there are all the legal foundations," he said.
Armenia wants to build qualitatively new relations with Russia, the politician said. "Nothing has happened between Armenia and Russia, and there are no nuances that were not present before. Our goal in relations with Russia is to build relations of a new level and quality," the head of the Armenian government added.
Pashinyan and Putin had a telephone conversation on September 27, the first day of escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Since Sunday, active hostilities have been going on in the disputed territory. Martial law has been introduced in Azerbaijan and Armenia, and mobilization has been announced. Both sides have reported an increasing number of deaths and injuries, including among civilians. In Baku, several Karabakh villages and strategic heights have been declared under control. Yerevan also reports shelling of Armenian territory itself.
Baku and Yerevan have been contesting Nagorno-Karabakh's ownership since February 1988, when the region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan SSR. During the 1992-1994 armed conflict, Azerbaijan lost control over Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts. Since 1992, negotiations on the peaceful settlement of the conflict have been conducted within the OSCE Minsk Group led by three co-chairs - Russia, the United States and France
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of President of Russian Federation
Based on materials TASS