MOSCOW, November 17. /TASS/. The consent and readiness of all sides are needed for a trilateral contact of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijan’s leader Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Wednesday.
"Undoubtedly, at some stage such contacts will be necessary but in order to make them possible, the consent and readiness for it of the three sides are needed," the Kremlin official said in response to a corresponding question.
On Tuesday, intensive clashes between the armed forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan broke out in the border districts of Armenia’s Syunik Province. Yerevan stated that the Azerbaijani military began advancing on Armenia’s territory. The state highway which connects the Armenian capital with the country’s southern regions and Iran was threatened. Baku pinned the blame on Yerevan accusing the Armenian armed forces of triggering a provocation. According to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, Armenian servicemen attacked Azerbaijani positions.
Due to these events, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu held phone conversations with his counterparts in Armenia and Azerbaijan, Suren Papikyan and Zakir Hasanov. The press service of Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that afterwards the heads of Azerbaijan’s and Armenia’s military agencies undertook measures on stabilizing the situation on the border.