Putin emphasizes need to observe Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire

MOSCOW, May 14. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenia’s Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan have discussed the incident on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the Russian side highlighted the need to observe the ceasefire, the Kremlin press service reported on Friday following a phone call between the two leaders held on Thursday evening that was initiated by Yerevan. "The discussion of the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh continued. While exchanging views on the recent incident on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, Vladimir Putin emphasized the need to strictly comply with all the provisions of the statements by the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan of November 9, 2020, and January 11, 2021, first and foremost, in terms of strict observance of the ceasefire," the report said. Putin reaffirmed Moscow’s commitment to continuing mediation efforts and maintaining close contacts with Yerevan and Baku in the interests of ensuring stability in the region. The Kremlin also noted that "Pashinyan, expressing gratitude to the Russian president, spoke in favor of a constructive dialogue and interaction that would make it possible to resolve all issues through political and diplomatic means only." Putin and Pashinyan also raised the issues of restoring economic ties, and transportation and logistics links in the South Caucasus, and agreed on further contacts at various levels. Border incident On Wednesday, the Armenian Defense Ministry said that Azerbaijan’s armed forces had tried to carry out "certain work" early in the morning in one of the border districts of the Syunik Province. Later in the evening that day, Pashinyan said that the Azerbaijani armed forces had crossed Armenia’s state border, moving 3.5 kilometers deep into its territory. After the end of hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone last autumn, when seven districts adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh came under Baku’s control, the Armenian-Azerbaijani border started to run along an area in close proximity to the Syunik region. Territorial disputes between the two sides have surfaced from time to time. Clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, 2020, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku and Yerevan have disputed sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh since February 1988, when the region declared its secession from the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic. On November 9, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to the document, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides stopped at the positions that they had maintained, and Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the engagement line in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin Corridor that connects Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Read more