Putin and Pashinyan spoke on the phone – RT in French

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has asked to speak on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Negotiations are continuing to resolve the Lachin Corridor crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Vladimir Putin and Nikol Pashinian, Prime Minister of Armenia, spoke by phone at the initiative of the Armenian side, the Kremlin reported.

Yerevan said it discussed the humanitarian crisis created in Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia has accused Azerbaijan, since December, of illegally blocking the Lachin corridor, the gateway to the separatist region, and thus of preventing supplies. Baku cites security reasons.

Vladimir Putin stressed that the continued implementation of all agreements reached between the Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders between 2020 and 2022 is essential. Washington is also trying to negotiate a peace agreement between the two adversaries, but Moscow believes that these agreements are the only textual basis capable of guaranteeing peace in the region. These include the demarcation of the borders of the two countries, the opening of transport routes as well as the establishment of contacts between civil groups, legislators and religious leaders of the two countries.

The Russian president reiterated that Russia was “ready to provide practical assistance” in the development of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, again according to the Kremlin.

Azerbaijan and Armenian separatist forces, backed militarily by Yerevan, clashed in two wars, one after the breakup of the USSR, the other in the fall of 2020, the latter ending in a crushing defeat of Armenia. A ceasefire, signed under the aegis of Moscow, was followed by the deployment of a contingent of Russian peacekeepers, but tensions remain high and the adversaries fail to reach a peace agreement.