Putin said there is no turnaround in relations with Armenia

There has been no reversal in relations between Moscow and Yerevan, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, noting that he is in constant contact with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. He spoke about this during the plenary session WEF.

“I don’t think there is any reversal, we see and understand what is happening <...> He (Pashinyan) sent me a detailed letter. We are in contact with him, we have no problems here with Armenia, and there are no problems with Prime Minister Pashinyan,” Putin said.

The head of state, commenting on the unstable situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, called Yerevan’s recognition of Baku’s sovereignty over this territory the key component of the whole problem.

“If Armenia recognized that Nagorno-Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan, then what is it all about? <...> The status of Karabakh was determined by Armenia itself,” the president said.

From September 11 to 20 USA and Armenia carry out joint military exercises as part of “preparation for participation in international peacekeeping missions.” The Kremlin previously stated that such news causes concern.

On September 3, Pashinyan, in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, said that Russia is moving away from the South Caucasus, and Russian peacekeepers do not control the Lachin corridor. The Kremlin did not agree with the prime minister’s words, emphasizing that the Russian Federation is “an integral part of this region” and therefore cannot leave it. September 11, press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov statedthat Russia and Armenia still remain close, so Moscow is not afraid of losing an ally in Yerevan.

Since the end of August, Baku and Yerevan have accused each other of shelling in the Karabakh region. Pashinyan, in connection with the concentration of Azerbaijani troops, stated that Baku “demonstrates its intention to start a new military provocation against Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia.”