MOSCOW, December 28. /TASS/. The Russian peacekeeping contingent fulfilled the complex tasks of disengaging the conflicting parties in the Nagorno-Karabakh area and is currently accomplishing planned missions in the region, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said at the ministry’s conference call on Tuesday.
"We managed to calm the situation there by introducing our peacekeeping forces and now steps are underway to carry out planned work. Now this work can already be called planned. Life is gradually returning to the region. Peace and calm are increasingly present there," Russia’s defense chief said.
As Shoigu said, "a large amount of credit here goes to all those who were engaged in the provision of medical and humanitarian aid." "And, of course, to all those who are on watch at peacekeepers’ posts round the clock."
The Russian defense chief expressed his gratitude "to all the commanders, servicemen, privates and sergeants who are on duty in Nagorno-Karabakh, Syria and at our other bases abroad."
"But especially in these two areas. All that existed, say, a year ago in Karabakh, when the situation was extremely difficult and dramatic, was overcame by the efforts of our supreme commander-in-chief who held these negotiations and this work round the clock," Shoigu stressed.
During the conference call, the Russian defense chief also thanked army engineers for constructing more than 3,000 facilities over the year.