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Armenian top diplomat notes Putin’s personal contribution to Karabakh ceasefire

He also thanked France and the US "for their efforts to reach a ceasefire"

YEREVAN, December 3. /TASS/. Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazyan has noted the personal contribution of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire, he said during a session of the OSCE Ministerial Council on Thursday.

"Today, we must highlight the efforts of the Russian Federation and the personal involvement of President Vladimir Putin in establishing a ceasefire and ending the war, namely through deploying peacekeeping forces. We also thank France and the US for their efforts to reach a ceasefire," he noted.

Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that had been part of Azerbaijan before the Soviet Union break-up, but primarily populated by ethnic Armenians, broke out in February 1988 after the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1992-1994, tensions boiled over and exploded into large-scale military action for control over the enclave and seven adjacent territories after Azerbaijan lost control of them.

On November 9, 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 starting from November 10. The Russian leader said the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides would maintain the positions that they had held and Russian peacekeepers would be deployed to the region. Besides, Baku and Yerevan must exchange prisoners and the bodies of those killed.