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Putin: Garabagh issue is over, the topic is closed

13 October 2023 19:20 (UTC +04:00)

"As a result, Garabagh became an integral part of Azerbaijan, not now, but after Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan's statement about Garabagh at a meeting in Prague last year. This statement fundamentally changed the status of Karabakh, meaning that Armenia determined the status of Karabakh. Armenia admitted that Karabakh is a part of the Republic of Azerbaijan," said Vladimir Putin, Russian President in a press conference on the conclusions of the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the CIS, APA's Moscow correspondent reports.

According to him, over the past decade, everything revolved around the issue of Garabagh's status: "I won't go into details now. But I want to say that we have come close to signing agreements related to Garabagh several times over the past decade. What has always been the problem? We have agreed that a referendum should be held. However, one side has stated that they cannot specify the timing for the referendum. This was Azerbaijan's stance. Because if a referendum were held under those conditions, the outcome of the referendum would have been obvious. Therefore, it was suggested that the conduct of the referendum be postponed for future generations. On the other hand, the Armenian side insisted that the timing of the referendum be determined, and that through this referendum, the status of Garabagh be decided. They believed that with the population of Garabagh at that time, the results would be evident. This was the crux of the entire problem. Everything revolved around determining the status. Last year, in Prague, the Armenian leadership concluded the matter, stating that Garabagh is a part of Azerbaijan and provided the square kilometers. At the same time, they referred to the 1991 agreement (Alma-Ata Declaration), which defined the borders of the former USSR republics as state borders. It ended. The topic was closed. Therefore, when we reached an agreement in 2020 about the deployment of our peacekeepers to this territory, firstly, their mandate was only to monitor the ceasefire regime, and secondly, the final status of Garabagh had not been determined. After Armenia admitted that Garabagh is a part of Azerbaijan, it became clear that our peacekeepers were undoubtedly on Azerbaijani territory. Of course, the situation changed dramatically after the departure of the Armenian population. Formally, our peacekeepers are there until November 2025. We are in dialogue with our partners, and of course, we will determine what to do in the near future. We will resolve this in the negotiation process."

Putin also addressed the question regarding the prospects of signing a peace treaty between Baku and Yerevan. He stated that Russia is ready to assist in the signing of a peace treaty: "We suggested holding a meeting in Moscow with our colleagues. Pashinyan is aware of this. I told him. The President of Azerbaijan knows about it. It seems to me that this is entirely possible. I don't see any problems now that would hinder the signing of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan after the events in Garabagh. Border delimitation and demarcation only involve technical issues. In my opinion, this is a technical matter, 100 meters this way, a kilometer that way... It's not that important. With the will of the parties, everything can be resolved."