Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed by phone with the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Karabakh, and demanded the protection of Christian holy sites after they return to Azerbaijan's control, while the Armenian population continues to burn their homes before leaving.

According to a Kremlin statement, Putin called the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, all of whom expressed their satisfaction with observing the ceasefire in Karabakh.

The statement added that Putin stressed the importance of preserving Christian churches and monasteries in the areas that will be controlled by Azerbaijan, and that Aliyev showed his understanding of this matter, and said that the Azerbaijani side will work in accordance with this principle.


Burning houses


While Russian peacekeepers are deployed in the conflict zone, some Armenians visited the region today, Saturday, to take a look that may be the last, and watched a village burned down.

Correspondents' cameras detected many Armenian residents burning their homes before leaving, after they took everything they could, so that the Azeris would not be able to live in them.

"It is the last day, and tomorrow the Azerbaijani soldiers will come here, everyone will burn their homes today," an AFP correspondent quoted a resident of Sharkhtar village as he burned his house.

Another Armenian fighter told a Reuters reporter, as his sister's house was set on fire with all its furniture;

"They (Azerbaijanis) will come here tomorrow morning, let them live here, if they can."

In his neighboring house, smoke was still billowing in what was left of its contents, and he says, "The Azeris will have to start building their homes from the foundations."

On Friday, dozens of homes were torched, and a Reuters reporter today saw 6 homes burning in a part of Sharkhtar.

International law recognizes that the region is part of Azerbaijan, before the Armenians inhabited it after the war that broke out in the 1990s.

Russian peacekeepers (Reuters)


Return of refugees


Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the start of the return of refugees to Stepanakert, the capital of Karabakh region, after it had announced earlier the start of patrols by the Russian military police in the northern and southern regions of the region.

The ministry said that the two parties to the conflict are committed to the ceasefire regime, and that Russia is in constant contact with the General Staff in both Armenia and Azerbaijan to prevent renewed clashes in the region.

Hikmat Hajiyev, assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, said that Baku will invite relevant United Nations organizations to assess and count the damage caused by the Armenian attacks on Karabakh and its surroundings, stressing that they will give a new home to every Azerbaijani family who lost their home during the war in the region and its surroundings.

War dead


On the other hand, the spokeswoman for the Armenian Ministry of Health, Alina Nikogossian, said via Facebook, "Until now, the forensic apparatus received the bodies of 2,317 soldiers, including the bodies whose owners were not identified," which is the number of Armenian soldiers who were killed in the 6-week conflict.

The Armenian authorities have so far indicated that 1,339 soldiers and 50 civilians have been killed in the fighting, while Azerbaijan has not revealed the losses among its forces, and is satisfied with announcing the killing of 93 civilians as a result of the Armenian bombing.

For his part, the Russian president confirmed Friday that the battles have resulted in more than 4 thousand dead and 8 thousand wounded, in addition to tens of thousands of displaced persons.

Under Russian auspices, Armenia and Azerbaijan recently signed a ceasefire agreement that ends the last chapter of this long-running conflict, consecrates the gains made by the Azerbaijani forces, and provides for the abandonment of additional areas in their favor.