MOSCOW, August 8. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan discussed issues of security on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the Kremlin press service said on Monday after their telephone conversation initiated by the Armenian side.
"The sides discussed the development of the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh and issues of security on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border," it said.
In this context, Putin and Pashinyan discussed the trilateral agreements on Nagorno-Karabakh. "They reiterated their commitment to all the provisions of the agreements of the Russia, Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders of November 9, 2020, January 11 and November 26, 2021," the Kremlin said.
Earlier in the day, Azerbaijan accused the Armenian side of violating the ceasefire on the border and in Nagorno-Karabakh, saying that "Armenian armed units shelled positions of the Azerbaijani army ten times during the past day."
Meanwhile, Russia’s defense ministry reported earlier that the situation in the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh was escalating. According to the ministry, the ceasefire was violated by the Azerbaijani army near the Sarybaba height. The command of the peacekeeping contingent jointly with representatives of the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides are taking measures to stabilize the situation.
The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the highland region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that had been part of Azerbaijan before the Soviet Union break-up, but primarily populated by ethnic Armenians, broke out in February 1988 after the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1992-1994, tensions boiled over and exploded into large-scale military action for control over the enclave and seven adjacent territories after Azerbaijan lost control of them. Talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement have been ongoing since 1992 under the OSCE Minsk Group, led by its three co-chairs – Russia, France and the United States.
Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, 2020, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. On November 9, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh. Under the document, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides stopped at the positions that they had held and Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the engagement line in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor that connects Armenia with the enclave to exercise control of the ceasefire observance. Apart from that, a number of districts came over to Baku’s control.
Several months later, on January 11, 2021, the three leaders met in Moscow and reached an agreement on unblocking regional communications. Following this agreement, a working group at the level of deputy prime ministers was set up.
The three leaders met again in Sochi on November 26, 2021. They agreed to take steps to enhance stability and security at the Azerbaijani-Armenian border. They also agreed to set up a bilateral commission on the delimitation and demarcation of the border. The Russian side promised to offer its consultative assistance at the parties’ request.