Pashinyan Recognized Artsakh as Part of Azerbaijan: Putin

The situation surrounding Artsakh began to change after Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a relevant document in Prague, recognizing Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“It all started with the issue of Artsakh. The leadership of Armenia, personally the Prime Minister, signed a relevant document in Prague and recognized that Artsakh is part of Azerbaijan. From that moment, our position on this issue became quite ambiguous. What could we do—intervene in Azerbaijan's internal affairs?” said Putin.

According to the Russian president, Western countries also considered Artsakh to be part of Azerbaijan while talking about the rights and interests of the Armenians living there.

“I said, you will not provide anything; people will simply leave, and that's it. Although President Aliyev would not do anything bad to those people, he would try to ensure their interests, nonetheless, they would not stay. And that’s exactly what happened,” Putin stated.

He added that it is difficult to shift the full responsibility for the events that occurred onto Russia.

Putin simultaneously mentioned that there are opportunities in the current situation to “turn the page,” to move forward without conflicts, to open infrastructures and borders, and to create new economic opportunities.