YEREVAN, October 30. /ARKA/. Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Russia Calling! VTB Capital Investment Forum spoke on the Karabakh conflict.
“Everyone has their own truth. There are no simple solutions, because the knot is tied very difficult. We initially proceeded from the fact that it is necessary to talk about the possibility of transferring 5 + 2 regions to Azerbaijan with the provision of a certain regime of the Karabakh zone, interaction with Armenia, and so on,” Putin said.
He said that a long-term settlement is to find a balance of interests that would suit both sides: both the Azerbaijani and Armenian people.
“In order for people to feel safe, but at the same time opportunities for effective regional development would be created with the unblocking and development of all infrastructural opportunities that would form the basis for the effective development of both Azerbaijan and Armenia, and of Nagorno Karabakh itself, because people there live quite modestly. And it would give an opportunity, among other things, to many of our today’s participants in the discussion to take part in the development of these territories, to invest, and there is where to invest,” Putin said.
He said that people in both countries are very talented, and the conflict, which has been going on for three decades, hobbles the effective development of both conflicting sides.
“But at the first stage, it is necessary to stop hostilities, death of people, sit down at the negotiating table and on the basis of the proposals that were formulated by the Minsk Group, the co-chairs – Russia, the United States and France – with the participation of other members of this Minsk Group, and there are many countries, including Turkey and a number of European states, on the basis of this joint work to find a consensus and balance of interests. This can be done,” the president said.
He recalled that the conflict began with ethnic clashes: first in the city of Sumgait in Azerbaijan, then in Nagorno-Karabakh itself, and the then leadership of the Soviet Union did not take any effective measures to ensure the safety of people.
“The Armenians took up arms and did it themselves,” the Russian president said adding that initially these negative events on ethnic grounds were the message for their actions. “This led to what? To the fact that Nagorno-Karabakh itself and seven other regions of Azerbaijan came under control of Armenia,” he said.
War in Artsakh
Since September 27, Azerbaijani troops have been carrying out military aggression along the entire length of the contact line in Artsakh, conducting artillery and rocket attacks, including against civilians and civilian infrastructures. Strikes were also carried out at civilian and military targets on the territory of Armenia.
The Azerbaijani side is supported by the Turkish Armed Forces and the foreign terrorist mercenaries recruited by it. The Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression encounters a decisive rebuff from the Armenian Armed Forces along the entire frontline.
According to the official reports on the Armenian side, Azerbaijan sustains huge losses in manpower. Its death toll since the beginning of the war is 6,854. Also 223UAVs, 16 helicopters and 25 aircraft have been downed as well as 632 armored vehicles and 6 TOS units have been destroyed since the beginning of war. More than 1,110 Armenian servicemen have been killed and several hundred people were wounded. As a result of the war crimes committed by Azerbaijan, 39 civilians were killed and 122 wounded in Artsakh.
Since the beginning of the war, there have been three attempts to establish a humanitarian ceasefire. All three agreements, which were reached on October 10 through the mediation of the Russian Federation, on October 17 through France and on October 25 through the mediation of the United States, were violated by Azerbaijan. -0–