DM Monitoring
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko held a telephone conversation, reaffirming their commitment to further strengthening the allied relations between Russia and Belarus, according to the Kremlin. “Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening Russian-Belarusian allied relations,” said the Kremlin in a statement. “The cooperation in the fight against the spread of coronavirus infection was highly assessed,” it said, adding that they noted the great importance of the agreement on the supply of Russian vaccines to Belarus. The two leaders also discussed the ongoing efforts to reach a settlement to the conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, the statement said.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that the country is doing its utmost to end the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis.
“Russia is doing everything that depends on us for the South Caucasus conflict to end as soon as possible in order to save the lives of people who oppose each other and, unfortunately, still see each other through machine gun and rifle sights, and use weapons against each other,” the TASS news agency reported Wednesday, citing the president’s speech during a meeting with Russia’s different religious organizations, as the nation celebrates this year’s National Unity Day. The president emphasized that the goals of both opposing sides in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can be achieved by peaceful means through negotiations.
“We are in contact with both Armenia and Azerbaijan. I hope that we will be able to achieve a result, on a basis that would suit all people living in the region,” he noted.
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday that Moscow will provide all the necessary assistance to Yerevan in accordance with the 1997 treaty between the two countries if the clashes spill over into Armenia’s territory.
The ministry further called for an immediate ceasefire and de-escalation of tensions, urging parties to return to negotiations in line with the basic agreements reached by the foreign ministers of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia in Moscow on Oct. 10.
