MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. The recent events at the Armenian-Azeri border show the situation in the region remains volatile and requires that Russian peacekeepers stay on to guarantee stability, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
"A year ago, the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh was stopped, with Russia making considerable mediation efforts,’’ he said at a meeting of senior staff of the Russian Foreign Ministry. ‘’However the recent shooting at the Armenian-Azeri border showed that the situation in the region hasn’t settled down completely yet.’’
"To ensure stability, the Russian peacekeeping force is very much needed as a guarantor of the ceasefire regime and security of the civilian population,’’ Putin said.
Russia has a larger role to play in the efforts to settle controversies between Azerbaijan and Armenia, rebuild economic ties in the region and unblock transportation links, he said. The outlook is promising as all countries in the region are interested in a long-term solution, he said.
On November 16, violent clashes between the armed forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan broke out at their border. Yerevan said the Azeri military began advancing into Armenian territory, threatening the highway that connects the Armenian capital with the country’s southern regions and Iran. Baku pinned the blame on Yerevan, saying the Armenian armed forces had staged a provocation by attacking Azeri positions.
Later that day, Putin held talks by phone with Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to discuss the situation. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu held phone talks with his counterparts in Armenia and Azerbaijan. The situation later returned to normal after Azerbaijan and Armenia sought to stabilize it, Russia’s Defense Ministry said.