DM Monitoring
Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin informed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Moscow’s trilateral meeting held with Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh during a phone call.
Kremlin reported after the call that Putin said one of the major outcomes of the meeting was the confirmation of the intention to normalize the relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
In a statement posted on his personal Bip account, Erdoğan said he touched upon several issues, including Russia-Turkey ties, developments in Nagorno-Karabakh and regional stability in his phone conversation with Putin.
He noted that he expressed Turkey’s determination to contribute and support all initiatives for regional peace and stability.
“We want to create the conditions that would ensure co-existence in Nagorno-Karabakh without a peace force or observation missions,” Erdoğan said, adding that once that goal is achieved, the two countries will be able to show the world the productive results of their cooperation.
The two leaders also discussed the situation of the joint Turkish-Russian center in the region. The leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a pact Monday to develop economic ties and infrastructure to benefit the entire Caucasus region.
Speaking in Moscow alongside Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, Putin hailed the talks as “extremely important and useful.”
“We were able to come to an agreement … on the development of the situation in the region,” Putin told reporters four hours after the trilateral talks began.
The Russian leader also said the Nov. 10 agreement between the three countries, ending the 44-day Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, had generally been fulfilled.
He added that Russian military units, who are temporarily in the region, are carrying out their duties.
Clashes erupted on Sept. 27 and the Armenian Army launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces, violating cease-fire agreements. During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from Armenian occupation.
The two countries signed a Russia-brokered agreement on Nov. 10 to end the fighting and work toward a comprehensive resolution.
A joint Turkish-Russian center with peacekeepers from both countries has been established to monitor the truce.
The cease-fire is seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia, whose armed forces have withdrawn in line with the agreement.
