MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/: Russian top diplomat Sergey Lavrov and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov have held a telephone conversation to discuss the implementation of a trilateral statement on Nagorno-Karabakh, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.
"The parties discussed progress in the implementation of the November 9 statement adopted by the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, including the parties’ cooperation with Russian peacekeepers, as well as pressing matters on the bilateral agenda and certain international issues," the ministry pointed out.
Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The conflict over the disputed territory, 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. In 1992-1994, tensions boiled over and exploded into large-scale military action for control over the enclave and seven adjacent territories after Azerbaijan lost control of them.
On November 9, 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 starting from November 10. The Russian leader said that Azerbaijan and Armenia would maintain the positions that they had held and Russian peacekeepers would be deployed to the region. In addition, the Agdam, Kalbajar and Lachin districts were handed back over to Azerbaijan.
