Putin, Pashinyan hold meeting in St.Petersburg

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan are holding a one-on-one meeting in Saint Petersburg on December 27, Caliber.Az informs, citing the Telegram channel of Sputnik-Armenia.

Pashinyan is currently on a visit to Russia.

During the meeting, Pashinyan noted the most urgent issues of mutual interest, including the situation on the Lachin road.

"As you know, the Lachin corridor has been closed for 20 days now. This is the area of responsibility of Russian peacekeepers. I would like to remind you, according to the trilateral statement, the Lachin corridor should be under the control of Russian peacekeepers, and Azerbaijan has guaranteed the unimpeded passage of goods and citizens. And it turns out that the Lachin corridor is not under the control of Russian peacekeepers. And, of course, we would like to discuss this situation and what options are available to resolve it," the Armenian prime minister said.

Azerbaijani ecological activists, civil society members, and volunteers have been holding protests on the Lachin road since December 12. They demand an end to the illegal exploitation of mineral resources in the Karabakh economic region of Azerbaijan. The temporary Russian peacekeeping contingent located on the Lachin road has been using it safely and freely despite reports about the road's closure.

In the meantime, Putin, for his part, said the main issue on the agenda is the settlement of the situation in the South Caucasus, including Armenian-Azerbaijani relations and every issue that matters to Karabakh.

"You and I started [talks] already yesterday [December 26], and we three had managed to talk. We will discuss all of these issues in detail just as we agreed,” the Russian president, said referring to a tripartite meeting attended by Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev.

Putin also noted the positively developing economic ties, with Russia-Armenia trade turnover rising by 73 per cent in the first ten months of this year.