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Question of Russian peacekeepers’ mandate in Nagorno Karabakh still open — Putin

In Russian President's words, the issue of extending the mandate depends on other issues, including a peace treaty and delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border

SOCHI, November 1. /TASS/. The question of expanding the mandate of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno Karabakh is still open and depends on further negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters on Monday.

"As far as the issue of peacekeepers is concerned, it is outlined in our joint statement dated November 2020, [issued] when the conflict was over. There is nothing to add here," he said. "We have discussed it. But our joint agreement is necessary for that."

In his words, the issue of extending the mandate depends on other issues, including a peace treaty and delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

"If those issues are resolved, then the issue of peacekeepers will be a different matter. If they are unsolved, or resolved partially, then the future of our peacekeeping contingent will depend on that," the Russian leader said, adding that Armenia and Azerbaijan "conveyed their words of gratitude to Russia" for its work in Nagorno Karabakh.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on October 29 he was ready to sign a document at a trilateral meeting in Sochi to extend the mandate of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh for up to 20 years. He also noted that he cannot resolve the issue of extending the mandate on his own, since this is a tripartite document.

The situation around Nagorno-Karabakh escalated on September 27, 2020. On November 9, 2020, Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on the full cessation of hostilities. The sides stopped at their positions at that moment, a number of districts went under Baku’s control, and Russian peacekeepers were deployed at the contact line and at the so-called Lachin corridor.

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.

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