Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the status of Nagorno-Karabakh would be determined in the future, but for now the status quo remains.
"Yes, there is this problem, since Karabakh’s final status has not been settled. We have agreed to maintain the status quo. What happens next will be decided eventually by the future leaders and the future participants in this process," the Russian head of state said, answering media questions on the situation in Nagorno - Karabakh on Tuesday.
According to Putin, if proper conditions are created for normal life and relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, between people in everyday life, especially in the conflict zone, are restored, it will create an environment for determining Karabakh’s status.
"With regard to recognising or not recognising Karabakh as an independent state, there may be different approaches, but this undoubtedly was a significant factor, including in the course of the bloody conflict that I hope has ended. Because the very fact of the non-recognition of Karabakh, including by Armenia, has left a deep imprint on the course of events and the way it is perceived," the Russian leader said.
"To put it bluntly, after the former Georgian leaders’ undoubtedly criminal moves, I mean the attacks against our peacekeepers in South Ossetia, Russia recognised the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. We recognised the expression of the will of the people living in Crimea to reunite with Russia as just. We met the people halfway, we did so openly," Putin recalled. "Some people may like it, others may not like it, but we did it in the interests of the people who live there and in the interests of Russia, and we are not ashamed to speak about it openly," he said.
The head of the Russian state drew attention to the fact that "this did not happen with Karabakh, and this, of course, has significantly influenced the developments there."
Normalization of the situation in the future
The main thing in the agreement on Nagorno - Karabakh is to stop the bloodshed, but the document also creates a good basis for normalizing the situation in the long term, the President believes.
" The most important achievement was stopping the bloodshed," the Russian leader said. He noted that according to official data, more than 4 thousand people were killed during the fighting in Karabakh. " I think that in reality the figures are higher," Putin said, adding that tens of thousands of people were injured. "this is not a movie. This is a tragedy that has befallen real people, real families. Therefore, stopping the bloodshed is the main result," the Russian President explained.
He noted that the agreement also involves unblocking all transport communications and restoring economic ties. "In my opinion, this is extremely important and it creates a good basis for normalising relations for the long term," Putin said.
Course of negotiations
Answering a question about how the negotiations on the joint statement on a ceasefire were going, the Russian leader noted that he had to assume the role of intermediary, talking with one leader and then the other, listening to their demands and complaints about the text, making amendments to it. " it was a difficult and I would say physically demanding process for all sides," the President said, stressing that "it was an equal, equivalent trilateral work."
The Russian leader clarified that all this happened "on this very day [November 9]," and recalled the words of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan that developments in the zone of hostilities took a turn that, it had to make a decision.
" Nevertheless, we must give them credit: even in that situation both partis (Armenia and Azerbaijan-ed. TASS) fought for every phrase, every clause and even every comma," Putin concluded.
The question of why the Armenian Prime Minister did not participate in the teleconference between Putin and Aliyev, during which the statement was signed, Putin forwarded to Pashinyan himself. "He simply did not consider this possible or necessary. Indeed, it was not the picture but the essence of our agreements that mattered," Putin said.
The rejection of the agreements
Armenia's rejection of the agreements on the settlement in Karabakh would be "suicide" and a huge mistake, Putin is sure.
"That would be suicidal," he said . - It is up to each side whether it complies or not with the agreements that have been reached, it would be a huge mistake [not to comply]. I hope that this will not happen."
Putin noted that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in his address to citizens, drew the true picture of the state of affairs as it is now, as it was at the moment when they were signing the trilateral statement. "He told the whole truth. In a truthful and absolutely honest manner; there is nothing to add here," the Russian leader stressed.
At the same time, Putin stressed that the internal political situation in Armenia after the signing of the agreement was not a matter for Russia. "This is no business of ours. Armenia is an independent and sovereign state. This state has the right to address its internal affairs as it sees fit," he said.
At the same time, Putin expressed the opinion that a country at war or threatened with a resumption of hostilities "cannot afford to behave, including in the area of power organization, in a way that splits society from within." " I think this is absolutely inadmissible, counterproductive and highly dangerous," he concluded.
Monitoring center
Azerbaijan will determine exactly where the joint monitoring center will be located on its sovereign territory, the Russian leader said.
"Where it [the joint monitoring center] will be located is another question. It is obvious that it will be located on the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijan has the right to make a decision on its own, where it considers it appropriate to place it, " the Russian President said.
Putin did not assess Turkey's role in the Nagorno-Karabakh events of recent months. "Different people, different countries are assessed differently. As of now, there are different relations shaping up between this or that state and Turkey," he stated, noting that the Kremlin remembers the often dramatic history of relations between Turkey and Russia over the centuries.
At the same time, the President drew attention to the fact that many European nations had an equally difficult and tragic history of relations with each other. As an example, he cited France and Germany, which had wars with each other, and now, they are jointly performing their NATO defence and security duties the way they think fit and are cooperating within the EU. "They have overcome all this and stepped over it, and they are moving forward in the interests of their nations’ future. Why cannot we do the same here, in the Black Sea region?" - Putin asked a rhetorical question, while admitting that Moscow and Ankara do not have the same positions in everything, and sometimes they are diametrically opposite. However, this, according to the President, is what the art of diplomacy is all about: finding compromises, based on respect for one’s partner.
The use of drones
He added that the Russian-Turkish center would use drones to monitor the situation in Karabakh online.
" We have agreed to set up a joint centre, which will make use of unmanned aerial vehicles, drones, to jointly monitor the situation along the contact line, to jointly retrieve and analyse the information and, of course, to draw online conclusions from what is really taking place on the ground in real time," Putin said.
The Russian President recalled that at the request of Azerbaijan, it was agreed that Turkey would participate in monitoring compliance with the ceasefire. "We will do this together with Turkey. What I mean is that we have positive experience of collaboration in the Middle East, including in Syria, where we are working together with Turkey to organise joint patrols and convoys in the Idlib zone and on the Syrian-Turkish border," Putin said. There is no need for this kind of interaction in Nagorno-Karabakh," he stressed.
As for the peacekeeping mission, it is true that Azerbaijan and Turkey kept speaking about the possibility of Turkish involvement in peacekeeping operations. "I believe I eventually managed to convince our Turkish partners and our Azerbaijani colleagues that we should not create conditions or motives for undermining our agreements, which could provoke one of the parties to take extreme measures or actions," the Russian leader said, adding that he was referring to the bitter legacy of the past, the tragic and bloody events that took place during the First World War, the genocide. In his opinion, this factor can be recognized or not recognized. " But why provoke the Armenian side by the presence of Turkish military personnel on the contact line? I believe that President Erdogan was and is fully aware of this. We had no problems with that," Putin concluded.
The role of the US and France
Putin also highly appreciated the role of the United States and France in the Karabakh settlement, noting that the latest truce agreements generally take into account the positions of these countries as well.
Answering questions from the media about the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, he said: "As for the role of France and the United States, I highly appreciate the role of both France and the United States. They were always in the material, always looking for ways to solve this problem. And when Russia proposed a framework for a future settlement in 2013, both France and the United States generally supported our proposals."
However, Putin questioned whether it was possible to take into account in detail the opinion of all participants of the OSCE Minsk group when preparing the current agreements on settlement in the region, noting that the final decisions did not undermine the basis of the common position of all participating countries in this format. In his opinion, " this is a purely technical issue."
Putin called it an artistic exaggeration to say that Washington and Paris were "offended" that they were not involved in the settlement of the situation. "I don't know about insults, but when it comes to the fate of millions of people in the long-term historical perspective, there is no time for insults, here completely different categories are taken into account. I think that in fact this is hyperbole, such an artistic exaggeration that someone is offended by someone, " Putin said. The Russian leader recalled that in October he held a series of telephone talks with the heads of Azerbaijan and Armenia, "and in General, it seemed that we had almost reached an agreement on the cessation of hostilities." "But it didn't work out, unfortunately. The situation started developing in such a way that, on the whole, a predictable scenario took place: the armed forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan established control over Shusha," he added.
Putin called the words of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan honest and fair, who in an address to citizens admitted that "the situation was critical for the Armenian side."
"Therefore, under these conditions, it was in the interests of the Armenian side to immediately stop fighting. Where are the additional consultations in the framework of the OSCE Minsk group? That would be unrealistic. It was necessary to proceed from the realities that have developed on the battlefield at this time. We did so in the interests of both the Azerbaijani and Armenian people, " the Russian President concluded.
The participation of the CSTO
The President also said that Yerevan could not involve the CSTO countries in the settlement of the conflict in Karabakh, because this region is not the territory of Armenia, but the Republic was not "abandoned and forgotten". He recalled that Armenia did not recognize the independence of Karabakh, that is, from the point of view of international law, these territories were and are part of Azerbaijan.
"The collective security Treaty provides for mutual assistance in the event of aggression against the territories of a state party to the Treaty. No attempt was made on the territory of Armenia, and this did not give any right to take a direct part in these hostilities," Putin said.
"But I assure you that Armenia did not feel abandoned and forgotten, and Russia did everything to prevent this from happening," the Russian leader added. He assured that Russia " fully fulfilled all its obligations within the framework of multilateral and bilateral obligations, including in the field of military-technical cooperation, for which the Armenian leadership has repeatedly expressed its gratitude."
"We proceeded from the fact that even in the course of such serious events, the balance of power must be maintained," the Russian President stressed.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS