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Russia to deliver humanitarian aid to Karabakh in 54 railroad cars - Emergencies Ministry

The Russian Emergencies Ministry will send 54 railroad cars with humanitarian aid

MOSCOW, December 12. /TASS/. Russia’s Emergencies Ministry will deliver 1,200 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Nagorno-Karabakh by railway, the ministry’s press service told TASS on Saturday.

"The Russian Emergencies Ministry will send 54 railroad cars with humanitarian aid for the civilian population. The [aid] will be dispatched from eight Russian cities. The cargo contains construction products, generators, fire tank trucks and household supplies. The total weight is 1,200 tonnes," the press service said.

The Emergencies Ministry pointed out that aid would be shipped from Moscow, Ulyanovsk, Ivanov, Ufa and other Russian cities. The humanitarian aid deliveries are carried out in accordance with instructions of the Russian president and government.

Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the highland region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that had been part of Azerbaijan before the Soviet Union break-up, but primarily populated by ethnic Armenians, broke out in February 1988 after the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1992-1994, tensions boiled over and exploded into large-scale military action for control over the enclave and seven adjacent territories after Azerbaijan lost control of them.

On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting from November 10. The Russian leader said the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides would maintain the positions that they had held and Russian peacekeepers would be deployed to the region.