MOSCOW, September 15. /TASS/. Russia is systematically discussing with the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides various solutions for the Lachin corridor, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
"The Russian side is systematically pushing ahead with its work both with Baku and Yerevan. We will continue to do so. Quite recently the first batch of humanitarian aid arrived [in Karabakh]. The delivery was organized, by the way, thanks to efforts by the Russian side. We will continue this work. Various options are being discussed and worked out with the parties concerned," he said, when asked for a comment on the US Department State's statements on the need for immediately opening the Lachin corridor because of the humanitarian situation in Karabakh.
As Russian President Vladimir Putin said on September 12, the Armenian leadership actually recognized Azerbaijan's sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh and simply put it on paper in its Prague statement. At the same time, such a context raises questions related to the humanitarian component and the mandate of Russian peacekeepers in the region, Putin emphasized.
Baku and Yerevan have been embroiled in a sovereignty dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988. In September 2020, a spate of renewed hostilities broke out in the region. On November 9, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on the complete cessation of hostilities.
The Azerbaijani and Armenian sides stopped at the positions they were holding at that moment. A number of districts came under Baku's control, and Russian peacekeepers were stationed along the line of engagement and in the Lachin corridor.