Putin calls Yerevan and Baku to calm down
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to show "restraint" after the most violent confrontations since 2020 between the armies of the two countries located in the Caucasus region, which led to the deaths of about 300 people.
"We call on each side to exercise restraint, to strictly respect the ceasefire and to strictly follow the tripartite declarations of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia," Putin said during a ceremony presenting credentials of about twenty ambassadors in Moscow.
More than 200 Armenian soldiers and about 80 Azerbaijani soldiers were killed last week in fierce battles on the border between the two countries, in an unprecedented escalation of violence since the 2020 war.
"I stress that every conflict between countries close to us is of serious concern to us," Putin added.
The Russian president's positions come after US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called on Monday for "permanent peace" between Baku and Yerevan during a meeting between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in New York in the United States.
He stressed that Armenia and Azerbaijan are ready to "establish peace."
During a visit to Yerevan, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi condemned, on Sunday, the "unlawful" attacks in Baku, according to Washington.
On Tuesday, Vladimir Putin reminded that Moscow and Yerevan are "conducting an intense political dialogue", knowing that Russia is an important financial and military supporter of Armenia.
Since 2020, Russia has deployed a peacekeeping force on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, but it was unable to stave off a military escalation last week.
Moscow is facing difficulties in the Ukrainian war, which makes it difficult for it to intervene more in this conflict between two former Soviet republics.
These clashes constitute an unprecedented escalation of violence since the 2020 war for control of the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region, which left 6,500 people dead and ended with Armenia losing lands to Baku.
The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the nineties of the last century over the Nagorno-Karabakh region resulted in the deaths of 30,000 people.
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