(Baku) Russian President Vladimir Putin, visiting Azerbaijan, offered his help on Monday in signing a peace agreement with Armenia, which accuses Moscow of abandoning it in the conflict with Baku.
“If we could do something to get a peace agreement signed between Azerbaijan and Armenia, we would be very happy,” Putin said in a joint address with his counterpart Ilham Aliyev after their meeting.
He added that after his visit to Azerbaijan he would contact Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to “brief him on the results of the talks” he had with Mr Aliev.
PHOTO MIKHAIL TERESHCHENKO, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev
The two rival Caucasus countries have fought several wars. In September 2023, Baku recaptured the mountainous enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenian separatists who had controlled it for decades.
Believing that Moscow failed to protect it, Armenia has since sought to deepen its ties with Western countries, without, for the moment, definitively breaking with Russia, its traditional ally.
After his meeting with Mr Putin, Mr Aliev said that security in the region depended on cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia.
“The new situation [depuis septembre dernier] “opens new prospects for establishing lasting peace in the South Caucasus,” he continued.
According to the Kremlin, the visit is an opportunity for the two leaders to discuss “issues related to the development of strategic partnership relations” as well as “topical international and regional problems.”
Vladimir Putin’s previous trip to Azerbaijan was in September 2018. This country is a close partner of Russia but also of Turkey and a major energy supplier to Western countries.