Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev, as well as Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan issued a joint statement following the tripartite talks in Sochi, during which the leaders discussed the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone.

Vladimir Putin said that the parties managed to agree on a number of key issues.

“The first of them is the creation of mechanisms, by the end of this year we agreed to do this, mechanisms for the demarcation and delimitation of borders between the two states,” he said.

Putin positively assessed the meeting, noting that the parties paid tribute to the work of Russian peacekeepers and specialists who are engaged in mine clearance and ensure the return of people to their permanent places of residence.

He added that the leaders of the countries signed a statement following the meeting.

The head of state also noted that the talks had made progress on humanitarian issues, in particular, the parties agreed to unblock transport corridors.

The joint statement says that Moscow, Baku and Yerevan agreed to move towards the creation of a bilateral commission on the delimitation of the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia with its subsequent demarcation.

Russia, in turn, will provide assistance at the request of the parties.

"The Russian Federation will continue to provide all necessary assistance in the interests of normalizing relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, creating an atmosphere of trust between the Azerbaijani and Armenian peoples, as well as building good-neighborly relations in the region," the document says.

Ilham Aliyev expressed the opinion that the decisions made will contribute to a safer and more predictable situation in the South Caucasus.

He noted that Azerbaijan is determined to start the stage of normal interaction with Armenia.  

“We had a very positive conversation.

We discussed almost all the issues on the agenda.

I would like to note that positions were clarified on many issues and it turned out that there are no discrepancies on some issues, as it seemed before this meeting, ”Pashinyan said in turn.

Let us remind you that the meeting of the leaders was held at the invitation of the Russian side.

During the talks, Putin noted that "a lot has been done" in the year since the adoption of the peace statement, but not all issues have been resolved.

“I also know about incidents at the border, about tragic incidents when people on both sides are killed and injured.

These are all things that require special attention from our side, ”the President stressed.

At the same time, the President noted that there are no large-scale hostilities in the region, and a lot of work has been done related to the return of refugees: "53 thousand returned to their places of permanent residence."

  • RIA News

  • © Grigory Sysoev

He recalled that a monitoring group was created in the region, the Russian contingent is working, as well as the Russian-Turkish ceasefire monitoring center.

In addition, a tripartite commission was established at the level of deputy prime ministers of the governments of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia. 

The main goal of Putin called the creation of conditions for the revival of the region, economic development and security for the population.

“There is an interest on both sides in the normalization of the situation, in the development of the situation in a positive manner,” Putin said at the meeting.

In turn, Nikol Pashinyan noted that Armenia is ready for the process of demarcation and delimitation of the border with Azerbaijan.

“The topic of opening, unblocking all transport and economic communications is also very important for us, and we are sincerely interested in resolving these issues,” he stressed.

During the talks, Ilham Aliyev also said that Baku had repeatedly expressed its readiness to start an urgent process of border delimitation.

“We also highly appreciate the support, including advisory, of the Russian side in this matter,” he said.

Recall that the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh escalated in September 2020 and quickly escalated into hostilities. 

Both sides reported casualties and the destruction of civilian structures.

On November 10, the agreement of Nikol Pashinyan, Ilham Aliyev and Vladimir Putin on a ceasefire in the conflict zone in Karabakh came into force.

According to the document, the parties ceased hostilities, stopped at occupied positions and exchanged prisoners.

The agreement also provided for the dispatch of Russian peacekeepers to the line of contact.

Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed on the exchange of prisoners on the principle of “all for all”. 

At the same time, despite the agreement, clashes occurred between the parties repeatedly.

In particular, on the night of July 28, the defense ministries of Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other of aggressive actions.

The mortar gunfire killed and injured several soldiers on both sides.

By morning, Baku and Yerevan agreed on a ceasefire - mediating efforts were made by the command of the Russian peacekeeping forces.

In November, the situation in the conflict area escalated again.

The parties regularly reported armed incidents, including fatalities, and shelling.

The situation was resolved after negotiations between Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the heads of the defense departments Suren Papikyan and Zakir Hasanov.

At a meeting with Pashinyan in Yerevan, Shoigu noted that preventing bloodshed is Russia's main task in Nagorno-Karabakh. 

The conflict in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where predominantly Armenians live, began to escalate in 1987, when it was part of the Azerbaijan SSR.

In the period from 1991 to 1994, active hostilities took place in the region.