At today's press conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin touched upon the Turkish factor in the Karabakh conflict, as well as the recent violations of the ceasefire in Hadrut. According to the head of the Kremlin, the most important thing in this process is the following:
"The cessation of hostilities by a trilateral statement is very important, because the bloodshed has stopped, people are no longer dying. The rest is secondary. Protecting people's lives and health is the most important issue we have solved".
The Russian President also referred to the violation of the ceasefire in the Hadrut region, in particular, noting:
"There has been a ceasefire violation only once, and I hope it will be the only one, and eventually all parties will start negotiations through us and the Minsk Group. We hope that the international mediators will finally take action, help those in need, first of all the returnees to Nagorno Karabakh, so that not only Russia provides humanitarian aid, but also international organizations such as UNICEF and UNESCO. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. We are ready to continue that work".
Vladimir Putin also answered the question on the replenishment of the military unit carrying out the Russian peacekeeping mission in Artsakh.
"As for the replenishment of our military group, it is possible, but by agreement with all parties. We have agreed on the number of our troops in advance. The issue is not only the peacekeepers, but also the work of the employees of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations and the border guard service of the Federal Security Service".
Regarding Turkey, Putin said: "Turkey's position is based on the fact that, as they believe, it supports the legal case of Azerbaijan, that is, the return of territories that were occupied during the hostilities in the 1990s. From the point of view of international law, the whole territory is considered an inseparable part of the Republic of Azerbaijan. I will repeat once again that Armenia itself has not recognized the independence of Nagorno Karabakh. According to international law, Karabakh is Azerbaijan.
In my opinion, the situation is more complicated than the ethnic clashes that started in Sumgait and then moved to Nagorno Karabakh. Each side has its own truth. The Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh once took up arms to defend their lives and dignity.
With the tripartite statement, we have agreed to cease hostilities, and, most importantly, the parties stand in the positions they were in when our trilateral statement was signed. That's where they have to stand. In this connection, technical issues arise related to infrastructure. And the infrastructural difficulties have arisen for both the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides. This issue should be resolved peacefully through the negotiation process, because the tripartite statement provides all the grounds and opportunities for that.
The document says that the next stage after the establishment of the ceasefire regime should be the full normalization of relations in the region with the possibility of economic and infrastructural potential. It is also connected with automobile and railway communication. It concerns Nakhichevan, the communication between the south and the north of Armenia", Putin said.
