ArmInfo.A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan was held in Sochi, Russia, November 26.
The consultations are timed to coincide with the anniversary of the signing of the Statement on a complete ceasefire and termination of all hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone of November 9, 2020, the Kremlin press service reports.
The discussion focused on the progress in implementing the earlier agreements, further steps towards strengthening stability and restoring peaceful life in the region, and various aspects of restoring and developing trade, economic and transport links.
Following the meeting, Vladimir Putin, Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan approved a Statement by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and the President of the Russian Federation.
The leaders of the three countries also made statements on the outcome of the trilateral talks.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin thanked President Aliyev and Premier Pashinyan for responding to his invitation and arriving in Russia to review the work that has been carried out during the year since the adoption of the peace statement last year.
"We reaffirmed our agreements on the ceasefire and restoring normal life later in January. A lot has been accomplished during this time. Unfortunately, not every issue have been settled yet. I am aware of the tragic incidents at the border when people on both sides get killed or wounded. These things require special attention on our part, and in fact, we are meeting today in order to avoid incidents like this in the future," the Russian leader said.
Overall, much has been accomplished during the year.
"First, no large-scale hostilities are taking place, which is very good in and of itself. During this time - and with our assistance - much has been done to have the refugees go back to their homes, with 53,000 people returning to their permanent place of residence. A good monitoring group has been created, and our contingent is working there. As far as I understand and according to assessments from both sides, it is doing a good job, providing safe living conditions for the locals. The Russian-Turkish ceasefire monitoring centre is operational. Most importantly, conditions are being created for a normal peaceful life," Putin said.
Speaking of the trilateral commission formed at the level of deputy prime ministers of the governments of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, Putin said:
"My colleagues have reported to me on its progress. It is not easy, but, nevertheless, this work is at an advanced stage, and there is reason to believe that we will soon be able to not only confirm the work of the corresponding group on unblocking transport links, but also make the appropriate decisions that everyone needs. I think this is, in fact, the goal of our efforts, namely, to create proper conditions for the revival of the region so people can feel safe and engage in economic activity and develop the economy. All this, of course, should have the most favourable effect on the living standards of the citizens of both countries."
"This is of great importance for Russia since we have special relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan. We were part of a single state for many centuries, we have deep historical ties, and I would not want to sever them, but on the contrary, we must strive to restore and maintain them in the future," he added.
In his turn, Armenia`s Premier Nikol Pashinyan thanked the Russian leader for his the invitation and for organising this meeting.
"Your personal role and the role of the Russian Federation in stopping the war last year is obvious to everyone. After November 9, Russian peacekeepers were deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh, along the Lachin corridor. Russian peacekeepers and the Russian Federation are playing a key role in stabilising the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and the region in general.
"However, I would like to emphasise that unfortunately the situation is not as stable as we would like it to be. Several dozen people have died on both sides since November 9, and other incidents occur in Nagorno- Karabakh as well. Since May 12 we have actually had a crisis at the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We believe Azerbaijani troops have invaded Armenia's sovereign territory. Of course, some borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan have not been delimited or demarcated, but a state border exists and this defines the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia.
"I cannot agree with the opinion of the President of Azerbaijan that all items except the unblocking of connections have been fulfilled. You know, and I have discussed this with you several times both in person and by telephone, that there is also the problem of hostages, other detainees and POWs, and this is a very important humanitarian issue. But I would like to say I believe that today we have met not only to voice these problems but also to discuss ways of resolving them.
"I have also said more than once that Armenia is willing to start the process of delimitation and demarcation of the border. It is vital to us too to open, to unblock all transport and economic connections. We are sincerely interested in resolving these problems, and I hope we will review all of them today.
"I saw that during your bilateral meeting with the President of Azerbaijan you talked about the Nagorno- Karabakh settlement problem. The President of Azerbaijan just mentioned the issue of peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Of course, we are also interested in this, and we believe the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement must be co-chaired by the OSCE Minsk Group.
"I think we must and can discuss many issues in the bilateral format. I must say that officials from Azerbaijan and Armenia are already planning direct contacts. I think it is necessary to emphasise that these positions deserve special mention against the backdrop of the not-so-positive nuances.
"The most important point about the current meeting is not simply to speak about whether certain problems exist. The main thing is that today we have managed to arrive at practical decisions (or as practical as we could make them) on stabilising the situation in the South Caucasus because we are responsible for peace, stability and security of people," Nikol Pashinyan said.