Russian President Vladimir Putin and acting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan discussed the incident on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, with the Russian side stressing the need for strict observance of the ceasefire, the Kremlin press service said on Friday following a telephone conversation between the leaders late Thursday night at the initiative of the Armenian side.
"Discussions on the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh continued. During the exchange of views on the recent incident on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, Vladimir Putin stressed the need for strict implementation of all the provisions of the statements of the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan of November 9, 2020, and January 11 this year, first of all in terms of strict compliance with the ceasefire," the statement said.
Putin reiterated his intention to continue active mediation efforts and maintain close contacts with Yerevan and Baku in the interest of ensuring stability in the region. The Kremlin also specified that "Pashinyan, expressing gratitude to the Russian president, spoke in favor of constructive dialogue and interaction so that all problems arising are resolved exclusively through peaceful, political and diplomatic means."
Putin and Pashinyan also touched upon the restoration of economic and logistical ties in the South Caucasus and agreed to have further contacts at different levels.
Incident on the border
Armenia's Defense Ministry said Wednesday that Azerbaijani armed forces tried to carry out "certain works" in one of the border regions of the country's Syunik region in the early hours of the morning. Pashinyan said the same evening that Azerbaijani armed forces had crossed Armenia's state border, going 3.5 kilometers deep into its territory.
After the end of hostilities in the conflict zone around Nagorno-Karabakh last fall, when seven districts adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh went under Baku's control, Armenia's border with Azerbaijan became directly next to the Syunik region. Territorial disputes between the parties periodically arise.
The situation in the conflict zone around Nagorno-Karabakh escalated on September 27, 2020, when active hostilities broke out there. On November 9 of the same year, a trilateral statement was signed by Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Pashinyan, which achieved a complete cessation of hostilities in the conflict zone. The Azerbaijani and Armenian sides halted their positions, a number of areas came under Baku's control, and Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the line of contact and the Lachin corridor.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS