They met in the presence of Putin.. The leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia pledge to achieve peace and demarcate borders

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday called on Azerbaijan and Armenia to de-escalate tensions and resolve their differences after the war in 2020, while the leaders of the two countries pledged to achieve peace and demarcate borders.

In a rare meeting, Putin met Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in the southern Russian city of Sochi.

The meeting comes after recent violence between the Armenian and Azerbaijani forces on the border between the two countries.

"We have been part of a united state for centuries, we have deep historical ties," Putin said, referring to the former Soviet Union and Tsarist Russia, which included Armenia and Azerbaijan.

"We must work to rebuild and develop these ties in the future," Putin added.

He encouraged the two parties to make more direct contacts, saying, "The more contacts there are, and direct contacts, the better."

 The three officials also discussed in Sochi the demarcation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

"We are ready to start work on demarcation and an emergency peace treaty with the aim of learning to live again as neighbors," Aliyev said.

 For his part, Pashinyan also expressed his "readiness to demarcate borders."

transportation lines

The leaders also called for the restoration of transport links between the two Caucasian countries under the terms of the Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement signed in November 2020.

In the same context, Putin stressed that the Russian peace forces play a positive role in the region, while the joint "Turkish-Russian observation center" continues to work effectively, "but unfortunately the region is witnessing some events with losses," according to Putin.

It is noteworthy that on September 27, 2020, the Azerbaijani army launched an operation to restore lands in the Karabakh region, which is controlled by pro-Armenian forces.

After fierce battles that lasted 44 days, Russia announced on November 10, 2020, that Azerbaijan and Armenia reached a ceasefire agreement, providing for Baku to regain control of some provinces.