The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has increased the risks of the spread of terrorism, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, speaking at a meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State on Friday via video conference.
"We were all worried about the armed conflict in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which involves CIS member states close to us - Azerbaijan and Armenia," the Russian head of state said. In his view, "the clashes led to numerous human casualties, exacerbated the already difficult situation in Transcaucasia as a whole, and increased the risks of spreading the terrorist threat".
Putin reminded that "Russia undertook certain mediation efforts in order to stop the bloodshed in the Nagorno-Karabakh zone, achieve a complete cease-fire and start the stabilization process". "In doing so, we tried to follow the key agreements reached in the OSCE Minsk Group, in particular, between its co-chairs - the Russian Federation, France and the United States of America," the president said.
He drew attention to the importance of the fact that the trilateral agreement between Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, signed on November 9, "is being realized in general and the Russian peacekeepers deployed along the line of contact are doing their best to prevent a new escalation of the conflict".
In his opinion, "now the international community and the CIS countries face the important task of helping the affected areas in solving humanitarian problems, including the return of refugees, the restoration of destroyed infrastructure, the protection and restoration of historical, religious and cultural monuments.
The Russian leader noted that "another serious challenge faced this year was unprecedented attempts from outside to interfere in the internal affairs of some countries of the Commonwealth".
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS