Russian President Vladimir Putin briefed Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan by phone on the main results of the trilateral meeting of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia on January 11 in Moscow, the Kremlin press service reported.
Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held talks in Moscow on Monday. The Russian leader said after the talks that a working group headed by the deputy prime ministers of the three countries will be created. The working group should present plans for the development of Nagorno-Karabakh in the near future.
"There was a telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Vladimir Putin informed about the main results of the trilateral meeting of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia on January 11 in Moscow, where the implementation of the Statement on Nagorno-Karabakh of November 9, 2020, was discussed," the statement said.
It is noted that during the conversation it was stressed that one of the main results of the talks was the confirmation of Azerbaijan and Armenia's "mood for the normalization of relations, readiness for practical cooperation in the establishment of a peaceful life, unblocking of economic and transport relations."
"Taking into account the general stabilization of the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh, it was possible to agree on a number of important steps in this direction," the report added.
"Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed support for Russia's efforts in the direction of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement and spoke in favor of continuing coordination between Russia and Turkey, including for the economic development of the region and promotion of mutually beneficial projects," the report said.
"Separately, some aspects of the formation of the Russian-Turkish Center for Control of Ceasefire and all military actions in the conflict zone were touched upon," the report said.
"When discussing the bilateral agenda, special attention is paid to the tasks of increasing the volume of mutual trade turnover, expanding cooperation in key areas, as well as the problems of combating the pandemic coronavirus, including the implementation of plans for joint production and use of vaccines," the report said.
In addition, Putin and Erdogan congratulated each other on the New Year and expressed confidence that in the coming year the multifaceted partnership between Russia and Turkey will be further developed. The leaders also agreed to maintain a regular dialogue at various levels.
At the end of September last year, hostilities resumed in Nagorno-Karabakh, extending a long-running conflict that resulted in civilian casualties. The sides made several attempts to conclude a ceasefire, but a trilateral agreement reached on the night of November 10 was successful. With Moscow mediating, Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed to a complete cease-fire and to an exchange of prisoners and dead bodies. Yerevan also gave Kelbajar, Lachin and Agdam districts to Baku. In addition, Russian peacekeepers were stationed in the region.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from RIA Novosti