Russian President Vladimir Putin in contact with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan discusses a wide range of issues related to the settlement of the conflict in the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.
Commenting on the words of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who advocated the presence of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Kremlin representative stressed that "any peacekeepers are brought into the conflict zone only with the consent of both sides".
When asked whether Russia was ready to send its peacekeepers to the conflict zone with the consent of Azerbaijan, Peskov said: "I would not go into any eventuality here now". "The President's contacts with his vis-a-vis in Baku and Yerevan touch upon a wide range of aspects related to a possible settlement," he said, answering the question whether the Russian leader had discussed with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan the possibility of a Russian peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Yerevan and Baku on the deployment of peacekeepers
As the Armenian Prime Minister said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, the arrival of Russian peacekeepers could be the "optimal solution" to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. "I am in favor of bringing Russian peacekeepers into the conflict zone," he said. "But the problem is that the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in the conflict zone must be approved by all parties to the conflict," Pashinyan added.
For its part, Azerbaijan does not deny the possibility of deploying international observers or peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh but will set its own conditions. "In principle, we do not deny it [introduction of international observers]. But undoubtedly, when the time comes, we will put forward our conditions," Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with Japanese newspaper Nikkei, which was shown on Thursday on the AzTV channel. He noted that the deployment of international observers or peacekeeping forces was part of the basic principles of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement. "But this is the last point, one of the last questions to be addressed to the parties," Aliyev emphasized. - "And of course, both sides - Azerbaijan and Armenia - must agree on the composition of observers or peacekeepers. That is why we did not seriously discuss this issue during the negotiations".
The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh
The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, the ownership of which is disputed by Azerbaijan and Armenia, escalated on September 27 and active battles began in that territory. The sides report killed and wounded, including civilians. Ceasefire agreements have been reached three times already, but almost immediately the parties to the conflict began to exchange mutual accusations of their violation.
Baku and Yerevan have been contesting Nagorno-Karabakh's membership since February 1988, when the region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan SSR. During the armed conflict between 1992 and 1994, Azerbaijan lost control over Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts.
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Photo: Vahram Baghdasaryan / Photolure / TASS
Based on materials from TASS