MOSCOW, October 31. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will hold trilateral talks in Sochi on Monday, October 31.
The Kremlin’s press office reported last week in a statement that "[They] plan to focus on the implementation of the trilateral agreements of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia of November 9, 2020, January 11 and November 26, 2021, and on further steps to enhance stability and security in the Transcaucasus."
The talks would also touch upon the restoration and development of trade, economic, and transport ties. The Kremlin added that Putin is also expected to hold separate talks with Pashinyan and Aliyev.
Russia initiated the upcoming trilateral talks and a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member states was held last Friday on this issue.
"As for a peaceful settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, we have been making every effort to achieve a comprehensive normalization of relations between Baku and Yerevan," Putin said on October 28, recalling that Azerbaijan and Armenia were part of a single state in the recent past. "Russia has traditionally <…> paid attention to stability in this domain and has always supported our Armenian partners in the provision of security for the Armenian people."
In early August, Pashinyan noted that a number of events that have taken place in Nagorno-Karabakh since 2020 raise questions among the Armenian public about the content and nature of the peacekeeping operation in Nagorno-Karabakh. In this context there was an urgent need to agree on the details of the peacekeeping operation. Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that the situation in the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh deteriorated.
Trilateral agreements
On November 9, 2020, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh. As a follow-up to the settlement process, they met in Moscow on January 11, 2021, when a new joint statement was inked, which, in particular, provided for unblocking economic and transport communications in the region. In addition, an agreement was reached to set up a trilateral working group co-chaired by deputy prime ministers to tackle this task and others.
On November 26, 2021, the three leaders held another meeting in Sochi. They agreed to take steps to bolster stability and security on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border, and also considered establishing a bilateral commission on border delimitation with subsequent demarcation. Russia offered to provide consultative assistance at the parties’ request.