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Azerbaijan concerned about Armenia’s talks with Russia on modernizing its army

At the same time, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev did not rule out peaceful coexistence of Armenians and Azerbaijanis

BAKU, April 13. /TASS/. Azerbaijan expresses its concern regarding Armenia’s talks with Russia on the modernization of its armed forces, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Tuesday.

"We are very much concerned about the fact that Armenia is in talks with Russia on modernizing its army, and we have notified Russia of our concern. Any opportunity for revenge will only create unnecessary tension," he said at the conference titled "A New Look at the South Caucasus: Post-Conflict Development and Cooperation," which is being held in Baku.

At the same time, Aliyev did not rule out peaceful coexistence of Armenians and Azerbaijanis. "I believe there will be no problem with living side by side. I have cited Georgia as an example on numerous occasions, where Azerbaijanis and Armenians live together not only in one region, but sometimes even in the same villages," the head of state noted.

Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, 2020, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku and Yerevan have disputed sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh since February 1988, when the region declared secession from the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic.

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. Under the document, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides stopped at the positions that they had maintained, and Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the engagement line in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin Corridor that connects Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.