Russia has always welcomed any effort to resolve the conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced this today during the question-and-answer session held after the meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, referring to the meeting held in Prague without the participation of Russia.
“We support any effort aimed at reducing tension and settling the problem,” he said.
Referring to the issues on which the parties could not reach an agreement, Putin noted.
“Is it possible to talk about them? Yes, it is possible, but it is not necessary, because if they have not been settled by this moment, it is not necessary to draw the attention of the press and the public to them, but to try to reach an agreement in a quiet, closed mode. These are very delicate, sensitive issues for the parties, I do not reserve the right to speak about them without agreeing with my colleagues.”
The President of the Russian Federation was asked questions about the prospects of the activities of Russian peacekeepers in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), the delimitation and demarcation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the fate of the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty.
Putin noted that there is no peace treaty yet, so it is too early to talk about the main components of the document, as it is likely to be subject to compromises.
"Delimitation and demarcation - this is a very important issue. We have really talked about it a lot today. There are some preconditions to assume that in general the way is found. If you read the statement carefully, you will find there preliminary, if not the agreements, at least the preconditions that such agreements can be reached. We are ready to provide the maps we have, including the maps of the Soviet Army, which are the most accurate. We understand and are ready to move forward on this basis, discussing with the parties. It is clear that these contacts, consultations, negotiations will continue,” said the Russian President.
Referring to the statements made earlier by the Armenian side about the need to extend the term of the Russian peacekeepers' mission in Artsakh, Vladimir Putin noted that he spoke about it with Armenia’s Prime Minister, but a joint agreement is needed for this.
“In addition, it depends on other issues, for example, the signing of the peace treaty and the border issue, if they are decided, the issue of peacekeepers will be put in a different way,” he said.
