SOCHI, October 31. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin is hopeful that his trilateral meeting with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan will make it possible to outline steps to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, as he himself said at a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Monday.
"I know that you have the political will to do it and we support this. We need to outline the key aspects that will allow us to move forward during our meeting and at a trilateral meeting later," Putin said, addressing Pashinyan.
Putin noted that resolving such a serious and prolonged conflict as the Nagorno-Karabakh issue requires a lot of effort. "In fact, we started this discussion when we met in Astana, the three of us," he said, adding that those efforts were not enough at the moment. The Russian president pointed out that the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) had held an emergency summit at Armenia’s initiative.
The Russian leader also mentioned how agreements on ending an armed conflict had been reached. "At the time, we all believed that ensuring peace and creating conditions for the development of Armenia’s economy was the main goal because unblocking transport infrastructure and creating new routes are among the matters related to economic and social development. At the end of the day, this is what we are working for, all this is meant to help the people," Putin stressed.
The Russian president stressed that Armenia has been Russia’s strategic partner and ally since ancient times. He added that "it is a special situation" for Russia. "I do expect that we will be able to take steps towards resolving it," Putin concluded.
