Putin proposes holding Azerbaijan-Armenia peace talks in Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that Moscow is ready to facilitate the signing of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan and can provide its platform for negotiations.

Putin made these remarks at a meeting of the Council of CIS Heads in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on October 13, according to Interfax.

“The preparation of a peace treaty to put an end to this long-standing conflict is on the agenda. Of course, the Russian side is ready to render all possible assistance to our partners, in particular, we agree on organising negotiations in Moscow,” President Putin added.

The president noted that negotiations can be held in any format.

“First of all, if necessary, the talks can be held among the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers and experts, of course, we will facilitate a peace agreement to be signed by the leaders of the countries at the end of these negotiations. The choice is always up to the involved countries; we are ready to create the necessary conditions for this work,” President Putin said.

The Russian president also said that the Karabakh settlement issues and the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, in general, were discussed during the recent meeting with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

“As is known, over the past three years the Russian side has made big efforts to stop hostilities and prevent escalation. A corresponding tripartite document was prepared thanks to our assistance. Painstaking work was carried out in a trilateral format - Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, aimed at normalising relations between the two capitals - Baku and Yerevan,” President Putin noted.

At the same time, he emphasised that Russian peacekeepers “conscientiously carried out their mission in Karabakh within the powers that they had”.

President Putin said that he has recently discussed the development of the transport system with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

“Together with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev we thoroughly discussed our plans, including the development of the railway network and roads having not only regional but also international significance in the most literal sense of the word,” the Russian leader said.