MOSCOW, September 21. /TASS/. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin has apologized and expressed deep condolences over the death of the Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh on September 20, the Kremlin press service reported.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held a telephone conversation at the initiative of the Azerbaijani side," the press service said.

According to it, during the conversation "Aliyev apologized and expressed deep condolences over the tragic death of servicemen of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Karabakh on September 20."

Situation in Nagorno-Karabakh

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the highland region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that had been part of Azerbaijan before the breakup of the Soviet Union, but which was 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. Renewed clashes erupted on September 27, 2020, with intense battles raging in the disputed region. On November 9, 2020, 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. Russian peacekeepers were deployed to the region to ensure the operation of humanitarian corridors. On May 17, 2023, at the Council of Europe summit in Reykjavik, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan declared that Yerevan recognizes the sovereignty of Azerbaijan within its borders of 86,600 square kilometers, which includes 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 conflicting sides to prevent civilian casualties and return to a diplomatic solution. On September 20, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced that an agreement had been reached with the participation of the Russian peacekeeping contingent on the suspension of local anti-terrorist operations in Nagorno-Karabakh as of 12:00 p.m. Moscow time. Today, representatives of Baku and the Armenian population of Karabakh met in the Azerbaijani city of Yevlakh "to discuss reintegration issues."