The solution to the issue related to the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan requires mutual concessions, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin said today.

According to him, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev showed their political wisdom by stopping the bloodshed in Nagorno-Karabakh. “In spite of the whole tragedy of the current events, the two succeeded in standing above the momentary political conjuncture and made a very responsible decision. I know that, no matter how strange it sounds, the peoples of both countries have demands from their respective leaders. There are always political forces that are discontent with certain things or think they could have done more. Nevertheless, Pashinyan and Aliyev managed to stop the bloodshed. However, there are still key factors.

In particular, it is necessary to create conditions for a long-term settlement in the whole region. The conditions can only be created when the two parties accept the reached agreements as long-term and when both parties assess the advantages, and I would like to emphasize this — the advantages of peaceful co-existence. Everyone is interested in this. Azerbaijan is interested in normal communication and unblocking of links with Nakhchivan. This is one of the first problems facing Armenia. It is necessary to create an effective economy in the region establish effective cooperation, including with Azerbaijan in the future, as well as to defreeze ties with Turkey.

Russia did everything it could to stop the bloodshed, and not only. Our peacekeepers are fulfilling their duty with dignity. More than 50,000 refugees have already returned. Overall, maintaining the situation in the conflict zone is a success. Unfortunately, incidents take place, and yes, sometimes people die. Currently, the most important thing is the ultimate settlement of the situation on the border. Here, of course, nothing will be possible without Russia’s participation. However, here we don’t need anyone else. There are simple pragmatic things such as maps, which are located at the General Staff of the Russian army. These are maps that show how the borders of Armenia and Azerbaijan looked during the Soviet era.

There are things that also require mutual concessions. So, it is necessary for the two parties to acknowledge and understand this. Is this possible? Yes, it is. However, of course, Russia also supports a multilateral format, including, say, intensification of the activities of the Minsk Group. We are working in this direction. The important thing is to achieve the main goal, that is, the creation of security and further construction of ties in the positive sense. We also need to look towards the future. The problem is not that the relevant article of the statement envisaged possible extension of the period of the Russian peacekeeping contingent…The question is the improvement of relations between the two countries. This is the most important thing. I hope we are able to achieve this.”