MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone conversation with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan focused on Nagorno-Karabakh, noting the stabilization in the region, the Kremlin said on Friday.

"At the Armenian side’s request, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation with Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan. While discussing the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh, it was stated with satisfaction that the situation has stabilized in the region and remains mostly calm," the statement says.

"[They] exchanged views on pressing bilateral issues with an emphasis on the energy sector and the fight against coronavirus infections. Further contacts were agreed," the Kremlin added.

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, which 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, 2020 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. Under the deal, Azerbaijan and Armenia maintained the positions that they had held, some of the districts were handed back to Baku, and Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the contact line and to the Lachin corridor, which links Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.

After Russian peacemakers’ deployment to Nagorno-Karabakh the situation stabilized, as just one ceasefire violation has been reported since. Tens of thousands of Karabakh residents, who fled their homes over fighting, have come back assisted by the peacekeeping contingent.