Putin says Karabakh settlement to benefit entire region

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has said that the resolution of sensitive issues related to the Karabakh settlement would benefit an entire region.

"The issues are very important and sensitive. I am sure that if we finally find a solution to these issues, regardless of all the challenges, it will benefit both Armenia and Azerbaijan, and not just them but the entire region, because many countries are interested in this, and it will contribute to the normalisation of relations in all areas including politically – meaning ensuring security for the people who live in that territory," Putin said in a meeting with the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on May 25 in Moscow, per the Kremlin.

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia launched a full-scale military campaign against Azerbaijan, resulting in the longest and deadliest war in the South Caucasus region. The war ended in a ceasefire in 1994, with Armenia forcibly occupying 20 per cent of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territories. This occupation led to the deaths of over 30,000 Azerbaijanis and the expulsion of one million others in a brutal ethnic cleansing campaign conducted by Armenia.

On September 27, 2020, the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia escalated when Armenian forces in the occupied Azerbaijani lands shelled military positions and civilian settlements of Azerbaijan. In a counter-attack that lasted 44 days, Azerbaijani forces liberated over 300 settlements, including the cities of Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Zangilan, Gubadli, and Shusha, effectively ending the nearly 30-year-long illegal Armenian occupation. The war concluded with a tripartite statement signed by Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia on November 10, 2020. Under this statement, Armenia also returned the occupied districts of Aghdam, Kalbajar, and Lachin to Azerbaijan.

Following Azerbaijan’s victory in the 2020 war, cartographic complications emerged along the Armenia-Azerbaijan state border. Azerbaijan regained control over a significant portion of the border, leading to the deployment of units from the Armed Forces and State Border Service in border regions, including Kalbajar and Lachin, to strengthen border protection.

Since then, there have been frequent provocations against the Azerbaijani army by the Armenian military, including the latest deadly border incident on May 10-12, 2023. These provocations have resulted in significant complications on the frontier. Baku has been urging for the immediate initiation of the delimitation and demarcation process to ease tensions with Yerevan. The process is based on five fundamental principles proposed by the Azerbaijani government to Armenia in March 2022, aimed at normalization and the establishment of lasting peace.

However, Armenia has hindered the process by demanding “rights and securities” for Armenians living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and engaging in regular armed provocations.

There are approximately 25,000 Armenian-origin individuals residing in certain parts of the Karabakh region, which is monitored by a temporary Russian peacekeeping mission. Shortly after the war, the government of Azerbaijan expressed its readiness to reintegrate these individuals into Azerbaijani society in accordance with the Constitution and laws of Azerbaijan.