Putin informs Iranian counterpart about Russian peacekeepers’ activity in Karabakh

Putin

MOSCOW, September 26. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin informed his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi, about the activities of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Kremlin press service said on Tuesday after their telephone call.

"The presidents exchanged views on the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh and issues of normalizing relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Vladimir Putin informed [the Iranian president] about the activities of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, including in what concerns delivering humanitarian assistance to civilians and defending the rights and security of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian population," it said.

The presidents "stressed the importance of resolving all problems only by peaceful, political and diplomatic means," it added.

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 in coordination with the Russian peacekeeping contingent to suspend the anti-terrorist operation in Nagorno-Karabakh.