MOSCOW, September 21. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev have agreed to intensify the trilateral negotiation process with the participation of Armenia, including the drafting of a peace treaty between Baku and Yerevan, the Kremlin’s press service said following a telephone conversation between the heads of state.

"It was agreed to step up work on the negotiation track in conformity with the well-known trilateral agreements achieved at the highest level in 2020-2022, first of all, in terms of unblocking transport links, achieving delimitation of the Azerbaijani-Armenian border and drafting a peace treaty between Baku and Yerevan," the news release reads.

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. Russian peacekeepers were brought into the region to ensure the operation of humanitarian corridors. On May 17, 2023, at the Council of Europe’s summit in Reykjavik, Pashinyan said that Yerevan recognized the sovereignty of Azerbaijan within its borders, which included Nagorno-Karabakh.

On September 19, tensions flared up again in Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku announced it was launching what it described as "local anti-terrorist measures" and demanded the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the region. Yerevan, in turn, said there were no Armenian forces in Karabakh, calling what was happening "an act of large-scale aggression."

Russia called on the parties to the conflict to stop the bloodshed and return to a diplomatic settlement. On September 20, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced that with the participation of the Russian peacekeeping contingent an agreement was reached on the suspension of anti-terrorist activities in Karabakh starting from 12:00 p.m. Moscow time. On Thursday, a meeting of representatives from Baku and the Armenian population of Karabakh began in the Azerbaijani town of Yevlakh. It was to discuss "reintegration issues."