MOSCOW, July 7. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenia’s Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will indeed discuss Nagorno-Karabakh during Wednesday’s talks, but there are no plans to sign any documents, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
The journalists drew the Kremlin spokesman’s attention to reports in some Armenian media outlets stating that the two leaders could consider options for the deployment of Russian peacekeepers to Armenia’s border and sign an appropriate document.
"This report is not true," Peskov replied when asked to comment on it. "Of course, Karabakh will be discussed as well as the Russian military servicemen who are currently deployed there, and bilateral relations in general. However, there are no plans to sign any documents."
"This is Pashinyan’s first visit abroad after [his party’s] victory in the parliamentary elections, [which turned out to be] a landslide and convincing," he said. "The scope of bilateral relations is large, and there is a lot to talk about."
The Kremlin earlier said that plans were in store to discuss the implementation of the statements by the leaders of Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan on the settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh of November 9, 2020, and January 11, 2021. Particular attention will be paid to the assistance to the population of the areas affected by hostilities and the restoration of economic ties and transport links in the region. In addition, plans are in the works to discuss the significant aspects of the Russian-Armenian strategic partnership and alliance and the prospects for scaling up cooperation within the integration associations in the Eurasian space.
Situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and border regions
Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, 2020, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. 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. According to the document, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides stopped at the positions that they had maintained, and Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the engagement line in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin Corridor that connects Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.
After the end of hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, when several districts came under Baku’s control, the Armenian-Azerbaijani border started to run along an area in close proximity to the Syunik and Gegharkunik provinces. Territorial disputes between the two sides have surfaced from time to time.