Nagorno-Karabakh conflict may be resolved only by political means - Putin

MOSCOW, April 14. /TASS/. The problem of Nagorno-Karabakh should be resolved exclusively by political means, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an annual televised Q&A session officially known as "The Direct Line with Vladimir Putin" on Thursday. "This is a very sensitive topic, and I think that we should treat it very carefully in accordance with a well-known medical principle - ‘do no harm’," Putin said. He noted that Russia is doing everything possible to settle this conflict and look for a decision acceptable for both sides. "Of course, long-term resolution on Karabakh is needed, it may be reached exclusively - I want to emphasize this because it is a common phrase but I cannot find another one - by political means. A compromise should be found," the Russian president noted. He said that it seemed to him that the sides managed to make progress several years ago, "but it, unfortunately, turned out not to be the case." Putin stressed that Russia is interested in resolving this problem because Moscow has friendly relations with both Yerevan and Baku. Russia will make possible contributions to settle the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh but the final resolution remains in the hands of the peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan, he said. "We will work in the framework of international structures and will continue activities on settling the Karabakh problem in the bilateral format," Putin noted. The Russian president said that millions of Armenians and Azerbaijanis live in Russia, and there are no problems. "Moreover, I know Armenians and Azerbaijanis that continue to maintain good personal relations despite the tragic events, and this is right," he concluded. On Saturday, April 2, the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh rapidly deteriorated when the parties to the Karabakh conflict accused each other of violating truce along the front line. The claims came from defense authorities of Armenia and of Azerbaijan. On April 5 Azerbaijan’s Chief of Staff Col. Gen. Nadjmeddin Sadykov and his Armenian counterpart Col. Gen. Yury Khachaturov in Moscow with Russia’s mediation. At the talks the sides reached an agreement on cessation of hostilities at the contact line between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces. On the same day, the defense ministries of the two countries announced that the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh would start at 12am local time. Read more