Vladimir Putin calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to ease tensions

(Moscow) Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev agreed on Friday, during a rare meeting in Russia, to ease their tensions and resolve their differences after the war between them in 2020.

After talks under the aegis of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, the two leaders notably agreed to work on the demarcation of their common border and to restore their road links.

“We have agreed on a number of issues which, in my opinion, are essential,” Putin said at a joint press conference, welcoming “constructive” talks.

“The first of these is the creation by the end of the year of mechanisms for the demarcation and delimitation of the border between the two states,” he said.

Several episodes of violence have erupted on the border between the two countries since the establishment of a ceasefire in November 2020, which ended a six-week war that left 6,500 dead

The deadliest of these episodes took place less than two weeks ago and resulted in the deaths of six Armenian soldiers and seven Azerbaijani soldiers.

Yerevan also accuses its neighbor of incursions into its territory.

According to Mr. Putin, the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders also agreed to “unblock the transport corridors” between the two countries, both for railways and roads.

He said representatives of the three countries would meet again next week in Moscow to finalize the decision.

Earlier, the Russian president called on his counterparts to “rebuild the ties” that have united them for centuries and to “develop” them.

He encouraged MM. Aliev and Pachinian, who last met in January, to have more direct contact. “The more contacts there are, including direct ones, the better,” he said.

Mr. Pachinian congratulated him on a meeting which “clarified the positions” and showed that Yerevan and Baku “have no differences” on certain issues.

Mr. Aliev said that the talks “will contribute to a safer and more predictable situation in the Caucasus”.