"If the clashes are transferred to the territory of Armenia": the Russian Foreign Ministry commented on Pashinyan's appeal to Putin

The Russian Foreign Ministry reaffirmed Moscow's adherence to allied commitments towards Yerevan in accordance with the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the countries.

This is how the Foreign Ministry commented on the appeal of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request to start consultations on providing assistance to the republic in ensuring security amid the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“A number of articles of this treaty presuppose specific actions in the event of a threat of armed attack or an act of aggression against each other’s territory.

In accordance with the agreement, Russia will provide Yerevan with all the necessary assistance if the clashes are transferred directly to the territory of Armenia, ”the statement says.

The Foreign Ministry also called on the parties to the conflict to immediately cease fire and return to negotiations.

“We again call on the parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for an immediate ceasefire, de-escalation of tension and return to substantive negotiations in order to achieve a peaceful settlement,” the ministry said.

To remind, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh entered an acute phase at the end of September.

The parties blamed each other for the aggravation of the situation.

Azerbaijan has announced a "military provocation" from the Armenian side.

In Armenia, in turn, they reported about the "beginning of the offensive" of Azerbaijani troops.

Martial law was introduced in both republics.

The Armenian authorities also announced the mobilization of reservists.

In early October, the parties managed to reach an agreement on a ceasefire.

This became possible thanks to the trilateral talks held in Moscow between the foreign ministers of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

However, soon the parties accused each other of violating the truce several times.

A new message from the Armenian Foreign Ministry says that Pashinyan has sent an appeal addressed to the Russian leader.

"On October 31, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which he thoroughly presented the situation that has emerged as a result of the Azerbaijani-Turkish military aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh and the challenges that have arisen in connection with it," the Foreign Ministry said.

It is noted that Pashinyan turned to Putin "for immediate consultations in order to determine the type and amount of assistance that the Russian Federation can provide to the Republic of Armenia to ensure its security."

On the eve of Pashinyan's appeal in Geneva, the meeting between the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Jeyhun Bayramov on the issue of settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh ended.

The results of the meeting were reported in the Armenian Foreign Ministry.

According to the ministry, a number of issues related to the implementation of the joint statement adopted on October 10 in Moscow, in particular, steps to a ceasefire, were discussed during the meeting.

The meeting was held with the participation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

The union stated that following the talks, Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed not to strike at the civilian population and non-military targets in the conflict zone.

Following the meeting, the parties agreed to take a number of urgent measures "regardless of the ceasefire and other obligations," follows from the statement of the Minsk Group co-chairs.

"The parties will not deliberately target civilians or non-military targets in accordance with international humanitarian law," the statement said.

In addition, it was decided to actively promote the exchange of bodies of the dead, as well as transfer the list of prisoners of war for possible exchange.

“The parties engaged in an open and meaningful exchange of views to clarify their positions in the negotiations on key elements of a comprehensive solution in accordance with paragraph 3 of the joint statement of October 10,” the Minsk Group noted.

Following the talks, Armenia and Azerbaijan intended to submit written comments and questions regarding "possible mechanisms for verifying the ceasefire."

It should be noted that earlier Vladimir Putin said that the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh can be settled only when a balance of interests of Azerbaijan and Armenia is found.

The Russian leader said that among the top-priority steps are the cessation of hostilities and the search for consensus based on the proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group.