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Putin: We have repeatedly offered the Armenians to compromise

Vladimir Putin, President of Russian Federation

05 October 2023 19:37 (UTC +04:00)

"After the collapse of the Soviet Union, an ethnic conflict between Azerbaijanis and Armenians started. First, it started in the city of Sumgayit, and then it moved to Garabagh. Everything led to the fact that Armenia took control of not only Garabagh ("the so-called republic"-ed.), but actually controlled all of Garabagh and took control of seven adjacent districts. This was 20 percent of the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan," President of Russia Vladimir Putin told a plenary session of Valdai Discussion Club, APA’s Moscow correspondent reports.

All this went on for decades. I must say that I am not revealing any secrets here. Over the past 15 years, we have repeatedly offered our Armenian friends to compromise. What kind of concession: they should return five regions around Garabagh to Azerbaijan, keep two regions for themselves, and in this way maintain territorial contact between Armenia and Garabagh. However, our friends from Garabagh (Armenians-ed.) always told us that no, this creates certain threats to us. And we said, listen, Azerbaijan is growing, the economy is developing, it is a country that produces oil and gas. The population is more than 10 million.

Let's compare your potentials. As long as there is such a possibility, let's find a way to compromise. We were confident that we would find an appropriate solution within the framework of the UN Security Council. We guarantee the safety of Lachin corridor. We guarantee the security of Armenians living in these areas. They told us no, we can't go for it. So what will you do? We will fight, they answered. Ultimately, the issue led to the armed conflict of 2020. Then I suggested it to our friends and colleagues. At what point was it agreed that Azerbaijani troops would stop the war? To be honest, I thought the issue was resolved then. I called Yerevan. Armenia demanded that Azerbaijan withdraw from the liberated territories. I told them that in a few days, Azerbaijan will besiege the fortified front in Aghdam district and that everything will be completed. Do you understand? What will you do? They answered that we will fight. Everything happened as expected. In the end, after Shusha, we agreed with Azerbaijan to stop military operations. The corresponding statement of 2020 was signed. This statement was about the cessation of hostilities and the deployment of our peacekeepers," Putin noted.