Thursday, October 22 2020 20:57

ArmInfo."Armenia and Azerbaijan are equal partners for us.  This was stated on October 22 at the 17th annual meeting of the Valdai International Discussion  Club, which is held on the topic "Lessons from the pandemic and a new  agenda: how to turn the global crisis into an opportunity for peace",  said Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Noting that Russia has special  ties with Armenia, Putin stressed that Russia also has special ties  with Azerbaijan. "There are 2 million Armenians living in Russia, and  about 2 million Azerbaijanis. These are not only those people who  came for temporary work, these are people who live here almost  permanently. They spend billions of dollars to support their families  while working in Russia. All these people have very stable and close  ties with Russia at the humanitarian level - interpersonal, business,  humanitarian, family. Therefore, for us, both Armenia and Azerbaijan  are equal partners. And it is a great tragedy for us when people die.  We want to build full- fledged relations with both Armenia and  Azerbaijan.

In each case, there are elements of building relationships. It is  Christianity with Armenia, but we have close ties with Azerbaijan in  other areas as well. As for the religious component, almost 15% of  the population of the Russian Federation profess Islam, and in this  sense Azerbaijan is not a foreign country for us. What we definitely  cannot forget is what happened in the fate of the Armenian people  during the First World War-it is a huge tragedy of the Armenian  people. This conflict began not simply as an interstate conflict and  a struggle for territories. It began with ethnic strife.  Unfortunately, it is a fact when in Sumgait and then in  Nagorno-Karabakh cruel crimes were committed against the Armenian  people. We must take everything into account. At the same time, we  understand that a situation when a significant part of the  territories of Azerbaijan is lost cannot last forever. Over the  years, we have proposed various options for resolving this crisis, in  order to stabilize the situation for a long historical perspective.  It was hard work to bring the positions closer together, sometimes it  seemed that one more step and we would find a solution. And,  unfortunately, this did not happen and we have a conflict in its  worst form and the tragedy is that people are dying. There are many  losses on both sides. According to our data, more than 2 thousand  people on the one hand and on the other. The total death toll is  already approaching 5 thousand.

Over the 10 years of the war in Afghanistan, 13 thousand died in the  USSR, and here in such a short period of time - 5 thousand, and how  many were wounded and injured. Therefore, this is a special situation  for us.  Yes, the Minsk Group has been created, we are responsible  for organizing the negotiation process, but it is clear that I am  100% sure that all participants in this process are all sincerely  striving for a settlement. But no one is interested in this as much  as Russia. Because this is happening in a broad sense with our  people, our friends and relatives. Therefore, we are taking a  position that could enjoy the confidence of both sides, and play an  essential role as a mediator for the convergence of positions. I  would very much like this compromise to be found.

I am in touch with Pashinyan and Aliyev, several times a day, talking  with them on the phone, with the heads of the special services, the  Foreign Ministry. Let's hope for the best, "he said.

The Russian leader also noted that there is no answer to the issue of   change in the negotiation format of the Minsk Group.